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TWO    DISCOURSES 


THE  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER 


c\ 


W, 


THE    RET.  WILLIAM    M.   PAXTON,   D.   D. 

pastor  of  1st  yrcguntcvian  (Cfjurclj,  ptte&urflfj- 


Preached  and   Published   at  the  request  of  the  Board  ok  Trustees  and  tub 
Session  of  the  Church. 


PITTSBURGH: 

Robert  S.  Davis,  No.  93  Wood  Street, 

18  6  1. 


IV,  as  op  W.  G.Johnston  &  Co. 


FRANCIS    HEREON 


Sorn, 

In  Franklin  County,  Pennsylvania, 
June  28, 1774. 


(Prabnntcb, 


At   Pi>  kinson   College,  Carlisle,  Pennbti 
May  5,1794. 


Cimtscb  to  JJrcacl), 

By  thi:  Pbesbytbry  of  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania, 
October  4,  1797. 


(Drbaiucb  to  tl)c  iUinistrn, 

And  Installed   as  Pastob  op  the  rnEscYTEiuAN  Chuuch  at  Rocky 

Spring,  Franklin  County,  Ta. 

April  9,  1800. 


lUmoneo  ta  Pittsburgh, 

And  Settled   as  Pastor   of  the  First  Presbyterian   Chubch, 

May,  1811. 


ilcsigirtb  hb  pastoral  Charge, 

December.  1850. 


ptcb,  Jetember  6,  1860. 


DEATH  AND  FUNERAL  SERVICES 


K  e  v  .    Francis    H  e  k  r  u  n ,  D.  D. , 

Departed  this  life  at  his  own  residence  in  the  City  of  Pitts- 
burgh, on  Thursday  evening,  the  6th  of  December,  I860,  in  the 
87th  year  of  his  age. 

He  had  just  returned  from  a  visit  to  his  son-in-law  (Mr 
Hoge, )  to  whose  charming  residence  on  the  banks  of  the 
Hudson  he  was  accustomed,  in  the  last  years  of  his  life,  to  re- 
sort during  the  heat  of  summer ;  and  where  he  seemed  yearly 
to  renew  his  youth,  and  to  return  to  his  home  with  a  freshness 
and  vigor  that  it  was  cheering  to  witness.  During  his  last  trip, 
however,  he  gave  evidence  occasionally  of  abating  strength. 
and  just  before  his  return  contracted  a  cold,  which  soon  after 
his  arrival  at  home,  settled  with  a  deep  and  fatal  hold  upon 
his  vital  powers,  and,  after  on  illness  of  three  weeks,  terminated 
his  life.  During  his  illness  he  endured  much  bodily  pain,  and 
although  his  consciousness  was  seldom  distinct  and  perfect, 
there  wras  a  patience  in  all  his  sufferings  and  a  resignation  to 
the  will  of  God  that  evinced  the  maturity  of  his  piety,  and  his 
meetness  for  the  Kingdom  of  Glory. 

In  the  intervals  of  his  suffering,  when  consciousness  momen- 
tarily returned,  he  would  express  his  conviction  that  all  was 
well,  and  his  desire  "to  depart  and  be  with  Jesus.''  From  the 
beginning  of  his   illness  it  was  perfectly  manifest  that   he  had 


no  desire  to  recover;  yet  he  waited  with  entire  patience  for  the 
moment  when  it  should  please  his  Heavenly  Father  to  end  his 
sufferings  and  receive  his  spirit.  During  the  day  that  preced- 
ed his  death  it  pleased  God  to  remove  every  pain7  and  he  lay 
with  beautiful  composure,  unable  to  speak,  but  indicating  by 
expressive  signs  that  his  soul  was  in  the  enjoyment  of  perfect 
peace.  In  this  happy  frame  his  spirit  passed  away  so  gently, 
that  it  was  difficult  to  tell  the  moment  when  "the  silver  cord 
was  loosed." 


The    Funeral. 

The  funeral  took  place  on  Saturday  the  8th  inst.,  from  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church.  The  bier  was  followed  from  his 
late  residence  by  his  bereaved  family,  accompanied  by  a  large 
number  of  ministers  and  the  students  of  the  Theological  Semi- 
nary in  solemn  procession.  On  reaching  the  Church  the  coffin 
was  placed  in  the  aisle  in  front  of  the  pulpit,  where  his  lifeless 
body  preached,  with  silent  eloquence  to  a  vast  assembly,  the 
last  and  most  touching  sermon  in  a  ministry  of  fifty  years. 
The  remarkable  assemblage  of  people  that  thronged  that  spa- 
cious Church  was  an  evidence  of  the  high  position  which  he 
held  in  the  regard  and  confidence  of  the  public,  and  of  the 
depth  and  extent  to  which  the  emotion  of  sorrow  pervaded  the 
masses  of  the  people.  Citizens  of  every  class  and  description 
wore  present.  The  high  and  the  low,  the  rich  and  the  poor, 
were  there  to  look  for  the  last  time  upon  the  face  of  a  Father 
whom  they  all  loved.     Christians  of  all  sects,  ministers  of  all 


denominations,  came  to  mourn  for  one  who  loved  all  who 
"name  the  name  of  Jesus."  The  Courts  adjourned  their  judi- 
cial business,  and  merchants  closed  their  stares  in  token  of 
respect  to  an  aged  Patriarch,  whose  living  presence  they  had 
all  revered. 

The  funeral  services  were  conducted  under  the  direction  of 
the  venerable  Dr.  Elliott,  Senior  Professor  in  the  Western 
Theological  Seminary,  and  the  friend  and  companion  of  Dr. 
Herron's  early  manhood.  The  service  was  opened  with  an  im- 
pressive funeral  anthem  by  the  choir.  After  the  reading  of 
selected  passages  of  Scripture,  and  the  singing  of  an  appropri- 
ate hymn,  a  prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Campbell  who 
had  been  a  long  tried  and  intimate  friend  of  the  deceased,  and 
a  co-laborer  in  many  of  the  important  enterprises  of  his  life. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Swift  then  followed  in  an  address  of  unusual 
solemnity  and  impressiveness.  His  intimate  relation  to  Dr. 
Herron  as  a  co-laborer  in  the  same  city ;  the  long  years  of  har- 
monious fellowship  which  they  had  passed  together;  their  joint 
participation  in  the  same  trials  and  hopes,  all  combined  to  affect 
the  heart  of  the  speaker  so  deeply,  that  as  he  stepped  forward  to 
the  coffin  and  looked  down  upon  the  face  of  his  brother,  the 
tears  gushed  from  his  eyes  and  he  poured  forth  a  strain  of  elo- 
quent lamentation  that  touched  and  melted  every  heart. 

This  was  followed  by  an  address  from  the  Rev.  R[chard  Lea, 
of  Lawrenceville,  who  had  been  trained  from  his  boyhood  un- 
der the  care  and  direction  of  Dr  HerrOn,  and  whose  vivid  reci- 
tal of  past  incidents  awakened  in  the  minds  of  the  sorrowing 
congregation  affecting  reminiscences  of  the  past. 
2 


10 


The  Rev.  Dr.  Bbattie,  of  Steubenville,  also  spoke  of  his  early 
acquaintance  with  Dr.  Herron,  of  the  high  respect  which  his 
character  had  always  inspired,  and  of  the  loss  which  this  Con- 
gregation, the  Seminary,  the  Church  and  the  Country  had  sus- 
tained in  his  death. 

Dr.  Elliott  followed  in  a  few  concluding  remarks,  in  which 
he  referred  to  their  early  friendship,  to  their  intimate  associa- 
tion in  labors  for  the  Seminary,  to  the  devoted  piety,  the 
executive  efficiency,  unsuspected  integrity  and  disinterested  con- 
secration which  characterised  his  whole  life. 

After  prayer  and  singing,  an  opportunity  was  given  to  all 
who  wished  to  come  forward  and  look  for  the  last  time  upon 
the  face  of  their  beloved  Pastor.  It  was  a  most  affecting  scene 
to  witness  that  large  assembly  coming  forward  in  regular  order, 
each  pausing  an  instant  to  look  upon  that  much  loved  form, 
and  then  passing  out  with  a  tearful  eye  and  a  throbbing  heart. 

After  the  services  at  the  Church  were  ended,  the  funeral  pro- 
cession formed  and  carried  the  body  to  its  resting  place  in 
Allegheny  Cemetery.  It  was  committed  to  the  earth  with 
deep  and  solemn  feeling,  but  in  the  assured  hope  of  a  glorious 
resurrection.  The  whole  service  was  concluded  with  Prayer 
and  the  Apostolic  Benediction  by  the  Rbv.Wm.  B.  M'Ilvaine,  of 
East  Liberty. 


11 


The  Sermon's  which  follow  were  preached  for  the  purpose  of 
recording  the  events  of  a  life  of  more  than  usual  historic  im- 
portance, and  as  a  tribute  of  affection  to  one  endeared  by  the 
tenderest  associations,  and  by  memories  of  the  fatherly  kind- 
ness with  which  he  received  and  cherished,  as  a  son,  his  suc- 
cessor in  the  Pastorate. 


FIRST     DISCOURSE. 

"Jttg  ifattjer,  ma  ifatljer,  tlje  (Cl)aviot  of  Jsrael, 
ana  tlje  Norsemen  tljereaf." — 2  Kings,  2  :12 

Never,  perhaps,  had  the  name  Father 
been  uttered  in  deeper  grief,  or  with  warm- 
er affection. 

Elijah,  the  Prophet  Father,  and  Elisha, 
the  Prophet  Sox,  were  bound  together  by 
no  ordinary  ties  of  endearment.  When  it 
became  manifest  to  the  old  Prophet  that 
he  must  ere  long  retire  from  his  sacred 
office,  and  it  was  indicated  as  the  will  of 
God  that  Elisha  should  fill  his  vacant  place, 
Elijah  sought  him,  and,  throwing  his  own 
mantle  upon  him,  indicated  and  installed 
him  as  his  successor.  Accordingly,  Elisha 
bade  farewell  to  the    home  of  his  youth, 


14 

and  crossed  the  mountains  of  Gilead  to 
take  part  in  the  ministry  of  the  old 
Prophet,  and  to  comfort  and  cheer  him 
with  the  ready  offices  of  kindness  and  affec- 
tion. From  that  time  they  lived  and 
labored  together  in  the  intimacy  of  a  har- 
monious fellowship  and  reciprocated  attach- 
ment. It  was  no  ordinary  friendship  that 
bound  them  to  each  other.  They  had  one 
interest,  one  aim,  one  motive,  one  sphere 
of  blessed,  holy,  consecrated  action ;  but 
deeper  than  this  was  the  affinity  of  conge- 
nial temperament,  the  unity  of  kindred  sym- 
pathies, the  harmony  of  feelings  strung  to 
the  same  key;  and  deeper  still,  the  affiance 
of  grace,  the  common  experience  of  the  love 
of  God,  and  the  endearing  intimacy  of 
spiritual  fellowship  and  communion  which 
bound  them  together,  heart  and  soul— -wed- 
ding age  and  youth  with  a  bond  of  perfect- 
ness. 


15 

The  life  of  Elijah  was  spared  longer  than 
he  seemed  at  first  to  anticipate.  It  was 
doubtless  so  ordered  in  mercy  to  Elisha. 
He  needed  the  experience  of  age  to  di 
rect  him,  and  the  wisdom  and  instructions 
of  the  old  Prophet  to  prepare  and  mature 
him  for  his  future  responsibilities.  For  a 
period  of  about  ten  years  this  happy  associ- 
ation and  co-operation  in  the  work  of  God 
continued:  but  now  at  last  the  time  arrived 
when  they  must  part,  Elijah  to  ascend  into 
glory,  and  Elisha  to  bear  the  responsibilities 
of  the  sacred  office  alone. 

When  it  became  known  in  the  school  of 
the  Prophets  at  Jericho,  that  Elijah  was 
about  to  finish  his  earthly  course,  it 
awakened  such  a  painful  interest  among 
the  young  men  in  training  there  for  the 
work  of  God,  that  a  band  of  fifty  followed 
after  the  two  Prophets,  as    they  took  their 


16 

course  toward  the  Jordan,  and  ascending 
an  eminence  that  overlooked  the  Valley, 
witnessed  the  sublime  scene  that  followed. 
The  Jordan  parts  before  the  stroke  of 
Elijah's  mantle,  and  now  they  stand  upon 
the  opposite  shore — the  Prophet  Father 
and  the  Prophet  Son  in  their  last  act  of 
earthly  communion.  Elijah  with  an  over- 
flowing heart,  tells  Elisha  to  present  now 
his  last  request :  "Ask  what  I  shall  do  for 
thee  before  I  am  taken  away  from  thee." 
Elisha  had  no  difficulty  in  fixing  upon  his 
request.  One  great  thought  now  filled  his 
mind — anxiety  about  the  cause  of  G-od  after 
Elijah  was  gone.  Hence  he  instantly  re- 
plies :  "I  pray  thee  let  a  double  portion  of 
thy  spirit  be  upon  me."  Put  whilst  they 
were  talking,  "behold  there  appeared  a 
chariot  of  fire,  and  horses  of  fire,  and  parted 
them  both  asunder,  and  Elijah  went  up  by 
a  whirlwind  into  heaven." 


17 

And  now,  Elisha  stands  alone.  Oh,  who 
can  tell  the  solitary  desolation  of  his  spirit 
at  that  moment  ?  The  Friend,  the  Father, 
the  Counsellor  to  whom  he  had  always 
looked,  is  gone.  He  had  never  before  been 
left  to  himself.  Elijah  had  always  been  at 
his  side.  Did  he  need  direction?  Elijah 
was  there.  Had  he  a  sorrow  ?  Elijah's 
heart  was  full  of  sympathy.  Had  he  a  joy? 
it  was  repeated  in  the  joy  of  Elijah.  But 
now,  alas  !  he  is  alone,  without  his  helper; 
solitary,  without  his  comforter.  With 
streaming  eyes  he  follows  the  receding 
chariot,  till  his  grief  bursting  into  language 
he  exclaims  :  "My  Father,  My  Father,  the 
chariot  of  Israel  and  the  horsemen  thereof!" 
It  was  the  expression  of  his  own  personal 
grief.  It  was  the  deep  outgushing  of  a 
stricken  heart- -the  sorrow  of  one  who 
felt  that  his  earthly  comforts,  stays  and 
supports  had  all   been  severed  in  one   sad 


18 

blow.  "The  mantle  of  the  ascending 
Prophet,  loosed  by  an  invisible  hand,  had 
fallen  from  his  shoulders,  and  it  floated 
down  before  him  heavy  laden  with  an  of- 
ficial appointment,  cast  to  him  as  it  were 
out  of  the  open  heavens."  He  felt,  there- 
fore, that  he  was  not  only  alone,  but  alone 
under  the  weight  of  accumulated  responsi- 
bilities. He  was  now  to  carry  on  the  work 
of  God  single  handed,  to  bear  the  burden 
of  the  sacred  office  without  a  helper,  and, 
added  to  all  this,  he  had  to  assume  the 
cares  and  responsibilities  of  instruction  and 
government  in  the  schools  of  the  Prophets. 

This  is,  therefore,  the  language  of  a  heart 
greatly  burdened,  and  pouring  out  in  this 
single  exclamation  its  great  surge  of  respon- 
sibility and  grief. 

But  to  this  language  of  personal  sorrow^ 


19 

he  adds  also  that  of  religions  and  patriotic 
lamentation:  "The  chariot  of  Israel  and  the 
horsemen  THEREOF."  The  thought  was  evi- 
dently caught  from  the  scene  before  him ; 
and  the  idea  is,  that  whilst  Elijah  had  been 
to  him  a  father,  he  had  been  to  Israel,  to 
the  Church  and  the  Nation,  a  chariot  and  a 
horseman.  His  labors  and  prayers  had 
been  of  more  value  than  military  defences. 
He  had  clone  more  by  his  counsels  and  in- 
tercessions for  the  protection  and  security 
of  his  country  than  chariots  and  horsemen. 
Whilst  he  had  lost  a  Father,  Israel  had  been 
bereaved  of  its  strength  and  security. 
Hence  he  combines  the  expression  of  per- 
sonal sorrow,  with  that  of  religious  and 
national  lamentation.  He  was  bereft  of  a 
Father,  the  Church  of  a  Prophet,  and  the 
nation  of  a  Defender. 

Now,  my  dear  friends,  all  this  is  only  too 


20 

vividly  realized  in  the  bereavement  that 
hangs  this  pulpit  in  mourning,  and  fills  this 
church  and  community  with  sorrow. 

This  language  of  Elishaisonly  too  appo- 
site to  the  occasion.  Whilst  it  describes  by 
a  remarkable  coincidence,  and  with  a  strik- 
ing minuteness  of  detail,  the  relation  of  the 
speaker  to  his  departed  Father  and  Coun- 
sellor, it  is  almost  equally  applicable  to  this 
whole  assembly.  He  was  the  Father  of 
this  congregation — indeed  of  a  whole  family 
of  congregations  in  and  around  these  cities. 
The  spiritual  Father  of  multitudes  here  as- 
sembled, and  perhaps  the  Father's  Father  of 
many.  The  Father  who  witnessed  your 
Father's  vows,  and  sprinkled  upon  you  the 
water  of  baptism.  The  Father  who  in- 
structed your  childhood  ;  solemnized  your 
marriage  covenant;  received  you  into  the 
family  of  Jesus ;  counseled  at   your  fire-side : 


21 

prayed  with  you  in  sickness,  and  brought 
comfort  and  tranquillity  amid  the  storms  of 
affliction  and  bereavement.  He  was  the 
aged  Patriarch  to  whom  this  whole  commu- 
nity did  obeisance,  and  before  whose  vener- 
able and  majestic  form  even  the  stranger 
was  ready  to  pause  and  say  in  Eastern 
phrase,  uO  King,  live  forever!"  We  may, 
therefore,  adopt  this  language  as  the  ex- 
pression of  our  common  sorrow,  and  as  we 
look  upward  and  trace  the  radiant  pathway 
along  which  he  passed  to  glory,  exclaim, 
"My  Father,  My  Father!1' 

But  we  may  also  acid,  this  expression  of 
religious  and  patriotic  grief :  "The  chariot  of 
Israel  and  the  horsemen  thereof!"  for 
whilst  we  have  lost  a  Father,  the  Church  has 
lost  an  able  Minister,  a  wise  and  influential 
Presbyter,  venerable  for  character  and  of- 
fice, well  known  in  all  Israel  j  and  the  na- 


22 

tion  a  patriot  citizen,  who  had  caught  the 
spirit  of  liberty  fresh  from  his  Revolutionary 
Sire,  whose  heart  was  true  to  the  union  of 
these  States,  and  whose  counsels  and  pray- 
ers in  this  day  of  our  country's  danger 
would  have  been  of  more  value  than  char- 
iots and  horsemen.  ^^Te  may  all,  therefore, 
like  Elisha,  mingling  together  our  personal, 
our  religious  and  patriotic  lamentation,  ex- 
claim: "My  Father,  My  Father,  the 
chariot  of  Israel,  and  the  horsemen 
thereof!" 

It  may  gratify  our  feelings  of  personal 
sorrow  to  recount  the  events  of  his  life,  and 
deepen  our  conviction  of  the  loss  which  the 
Church  and  the  Nation  has  sustained,  to 
estimate  his  character  and  worth. 


23 

Let  me  then  present  you  : — 

FIRST, 

A  Brief  Narrative  of  his  Personal  History. 

Dr.  Hereon  was  born  near  Shippensburg, 
Pa.,  on  the  28th  day  of  June,  1774 — just  in 
the  heat  of  the  great  Revolutionary  struggle. 
and  two  years  previous  to  the  Declaration 
of  our  National  Independence. 

This  threw  the  period  of  his  youth  and 
education  in  the  midst  of  that  era  whose 
formative  influences  produced  that  race  of 
great  and  noble  men,  who  reared  our  free 
institutions,  and  developed  our  Protestant 
Christianity.  His  parents  were  of  that 
illustrious,  historic  race — the  Scotch  Irish 
Presbyterians — memorable  in  all  their  gen- 
erations for  their  devotion  to  liberty  and 
religion,  and  ever  ready  to  die  upon  the 
battle  field  in  the  defence  of  the  one,  or  to 


u 

burn  at  the  stake  as  a  testimony  for  the  other. 
It  was  the  happiness  of  our  departed  Father 
to  have  been  born  at  such  a  time,  and  of 
such  a  parentage.  He  imbibed  from  the 
spirit  of  the  age  that  manly  courage,  and 
that  peculiar  tinge  of  moral  heroism  that 
characterised  his  whole  life  ;  whilst  from 
parental  instruction  and  influence  he  re- 
ceived that  high  estimate  of  the  worth  of 
religion,  that  conviction  of  its  experimental 
and  practical  nature,  and  that  thorough  in- 
doctrination in  the  principles  of  the  West- 
minster Catechism  which  made  him  so  ef- 
fective as  a  preacher,  so  evangelical  and 
orthodox  as  a  divine. 

After  passing  through   the   discipline  of 
youth,  and  the  "curriculum"  of  preparatory 

study  under  the  parental  roof,  he  was  sent 
to  Dickinson  College  at  Carlisle,  where  he 
was  highly  favored  in  enjoying  the  tuition 


of  the  distinguished  Dr.  Nesbit — a  man  who 
combined  varied  learning,  ripe  scholarship, 
the  power  of  acquiring,  retaining  and  im- 
parting knowledge,  with  such  matchless  wit, 
as  made  him  the  wonder  and  admiration  of 
his  time.  In  this  institution  he  completed 
his  classical  course,  graduating  May  5th, 
1794. 

Of  his  early  religious  history  we  have  no 
certain  information.  The  probability  is, 
that  his  heart  was  renewed  in  early  youth, 
and  that  it  was  with  a  view  to  his  prepara- 
tion for  the  ministry  that  he  first  entered 
upon  a  course  of  classical  education.  Im- 
mediately upon  his  return  from  college  he 
commenced  the  study  of  Theology,  under 
the  direction  of  Dr.  Robert  Cooper,  his 
pastor,  and  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Carlisle,  on  the  4th  clay  of 
October,  1797. 


26 

Soon  after  his  licensure,  probably  in  the 
year  1798,  or  1799,  he  took  a  journey,  on 
horseback,  to  what  was  then  called  the 
"Back- woods,"  passing  through  this  city, 
and  traveling  as  far  west  as  Chillicothe. 
He  started  on  this  journey  in  company  with 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Mahon,  (who  had  previously 
been  a  stated  supply  to  this  congregation 
for  one  or  two  years,)  and  the  Rev.  Matthew 
Brown,  who  had  been  his  classmate  in  col- 
lege. They  arrived  on  Friday  evening  at 
the  tavern  at  the  Six  Mile  Run,  near  Wil- 
kinsburg.  At  this  place  Dr.  Herron  remained 
over  Sabbath,  at  the  urgent  solicitation  of 
some  Presbyterian  families  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  preached  to  the  people  who  as- 
sembled, standing  under  the  shade  of  an 
apple  tree,  near  what  is  commonly  known 
as  the  Bullock  Pens.  His  companions 
traveled   on   to  this    place,  and  Mr.  Mahon 


27 

filled  the  pulpit  of  this  Church  on  the  same 
Sabbath. 

The  journey  of  Dr.  Herron,*  from  this 
place  to  Chillicothe,  was  one  of  no  little 
trial.  He  frequently  .spoke  of  it  with 
great  interest,  and  described  the  diffi- 
culties and  incidents  of  the  way.  His  only 
companion  and  guide  was  a  Frontier  Settler, 
who  had  once  before  passed  along  the 
route.  A  large  portion  of  their  way  lay 
through  an  almost  unbroken  wilderness — 
the  course  indicated  sometimes  by  a  narrow 
pathway,  but  often  by  nothing  more  than 
the  "blazes"  upon  the  trees.  The  latter 
part  of  the  journey  was  difficult  and  peril- 
ous. For  clays  they  could  not  find  even  a 
cabin  for  shelter,  and  were  compelled  to  en- 
camp two  successive  nights  with  the  Indi- 
ans, in  the  neighborhood  of  the  present 
town  of  Marietta. 


28 

It  was  on  his  return  from  Chillicothe 
that  he  visited  this  city,  then  a  small  village 
containing  not  more  than  fifteen  or  eighteen 
hundred  inhabitants,  without  a  pavement,  a 
turnpike,  a  stage  coach,  a  Bank,  an  Iron 
Foundry,  and  with  but  a  single  Church — 
the  first  rude  log  structure  which  stood  upon 
the  spot  which  we  now  occupy.  In  the 
keeper  of  the  Public  House,  where  he  lodged 
he  found  an  acquaintance  whom  he  had 
known  in  the  East,  at  whose  urgent  solici- 
tation he  consented  to  preach.  Notice  was 
accordingly  given,  by  a  messenger  who  went 
from  house  to  house,  and  in  the  evening  a 
congregation  of  fifteen  or  eighteen  persons 
assembled,  to  whom  the  Doctor  preached, 
much  to  the  annoyance  (as  he  expressed  it,) 
of  the  swallows,  who  seemed  to  claim  a 
pre-emption  right  to  the  premises. 

This  journey,  however,  was    eminently  a 


21) 

hallowed  period  in  the  Doctor's  life,  and 
was  doubtless  ordered  in  the  providence  of 
God,  as  a  special  preparation  for  future  use- 
fulness. It  was  at  a  period  when  a  number 
of  the  Churches  in  this  western  field  were 
enjoying  times  of  refreshing  from  the  pres- 
ence of  God.  To  these  favored  spots  he 
directed  his  course,  and  entering  heartily 
into  the  work  he  received  a  fresh  unction 
himself,  whilst  he  proclaimed  the  tidings  of 
salvation  to  others.  He  preached  for  Dr. 
M'Millan,  at  the  Chartiers  Church,  during 
a  time  of  deep  and  solemn  revival.  He 
also  spoke  of  having  visited  Dr.  Ralston, 
Mr.  Porter,  Dr.  Smith  and  others,  who 
were  enjoying  more  or  less  the  demonstra- 
tion and  power  of  the  Divine  Spirit. 

In  the  course  of  this  journey  he  preached 
at  the  Buffalo  Church,  then  vacant.  The 
people  were  so  delighted  with  his  ministra- 


^0 

tion,  that  they  invited  him  with  one  voice 
to  become  their  pastor.  This  call  Dr.  Ral- 
ston urged  him  very  strongly  to  accept. 
Holding  it  under  consideration  he  returned 
again  to  the  East,  where  he  found  a  call 
awaiting  him  from  the  Rocky  Spring 
Church,  in  the  vicinity  of  his  own  home. 
This  determined  his  course  He  declined 
the  call  to  Buffalo,  and  accepted  that  to 
Rocky  Spring.  He  was  accordingly  or- 
dained to  the  Ministry,  and  installed  as 
pastor  of  that  Church,  on  the  9  th  day  of 
April,  in  the  year  1800. 

Greatly  quickened  in  his  own  religious 
experience,  by  the  revival  scenes  through 
which  he  had  passed,  and  fired  with  a  new 
zeal  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  salvation 
of  souls,  he  entered  upon  his  labors  at 
Rocky  Spring,  and  soon  inaugurated  a  new 
era  in  the  spiritual   history  of  that  people. 


31 

He  preached  with  such  an  unction  and 
power  that  sinners  began  to  awake  from 
their  lethargy,  and  dull  and  slumbering 
Christians  roused  to  a  new  life.  Prayer 
Meetings,  which  hitherto  had  been  unknown 
in  that  Church,  he  now  instituted,  and  con- 
ducted with  the  most  encouraging  success. 
To  this  he  added  Bible  classes,  and  meetings 
for  catechetical  instruction,  which  inter- 
ested the  young,  and  were  the  means  of 
blessing  to  coming  generations.  The  ten 
succeeding  years,  during  which  he  continued 
the  pastor  of  that  Church,  was  a  period  of 
healthful  religious  progress  :  the  congrega- 
tion growing  in  piety  and  strength,  and  the 
young  pastor  in  ministerial  power  and  in- 
fluence with  the  people.  Many  still  live, 
in  whose  minds  the  memories  of  that  pas- 
torate are  still  fresh  and  interesting  Two 
persons  are  now  present,  one  an  Elder  and 
the  other    a  Trustee  of  this   Church,   who 


32 


were  baptized  by  Dr.  Herron,  fifty  and  fifty- 
one   years  ago,  in  the    Church   at   Rocky 


Spring. 


The  second  year  of  his  pastorate  (Feb., 
1802,)  was  signalized  by  his  marriage  with 
Elizabeth  Blain,  daughter  of  Alexander 
Blain,  Esq.,  then  residing  in  the  vicinity  of 
Carlisle,  Pa.  This  happy  relation,  em- 
bosoming so  much  of  earthly  hope  and  re- 
sponsibility, was  continued  in  the  kind 
providence  of  God  for  the  long  period  of 
fifty-three  years  ;  surviving  the  relation  of 
pastor  and  people,  flourishing  in  beauty 
even  in  the  winter  of  age,  and  broken  only 
by  the  law  of  the  harvest,  which  gathered 
first  the  wife  and  then  the  husband  "in  full 
age,"  like  "ripened  shocks, ?;  into  the  garner 
of  the  Lord. 

Thus  settled,  usefully  in  his  pastorate,  hap- 


pily  in  his  family,  and  in  circumstances  of 
pecuniary  ease,  upon  a  farm  presented  to 
him  by  his  father,  he  pursued  the  objects  of 
his  high  calling  with  great  vigor  and  en- 


In  the  year  1810,  he  again  took  a  jour- 
ney to  this  city,  to  visit  his  sister  Mrs. 
Peebles,  and  his  brother-in-law  Dr.  Brown, 
then  President  of  Washington  College. 
During  his  stay  here  he  preached  in  this 
Church,  by  invitation,  the  pulpit  having 
been  left  vacant  by  the  death  of  the  Kev. 
Robert  Steele.  A  venerable  mother  in 
this  Church  still  remembers  the  sermon, 
and  has  given  me  the  text.  It  was  the  8th 
verse  of  the  2nd  chapter  of  the  Song  of 
Solomon,  ''The  voice  of  my  beloved,  behold 
he  cometh,  leaping  upon  the  mountains  and 
skipping  upon  the  hills.77  The  people  were 
so    much   delighted,  that  upon    his  return 


from  Washington  he  was  urged  to  preach 
again.  There  was  such  an  anxiety  to  hear 
him  that  some  of  the  ladies  went  to  the 
Church  on  horseback,  the  mud  being  too  deep 
for  them  to  walk,  and  others  were  carried 
there.  This  second  sermon  produced  such 
an  enthusiasm,  that  a  meeting  of  the  con- 
gregation was  held  immediately  and  a  call 
made  out. 

Having  signified  his  acceptance  of  this 
call,  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle  dissolved 
his  pastoral  relation  with  the  Church  of 
Rocky  Spring,  and  dismissed  him  to  the 
Presbytery  of  Ohio,  on  the  3d  day  of  April, 
1811,  as  appears  from  the  following  record 
in  the  Minute  Book  of  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees of  this  Church: — (I  cite  the  record,  be- 
cause, as  there  is  some  difference  of  opinion, 
it  is  important  to  fix  this  date,)— ''Resolved, 
That  the  salary  (of  six  hundred  dollars  per 


35 

annum)  of  Mr.  Francis  Herron,  commence 
from  the  3d  day  of  April,  18 LI,  being  the 
time  at  which,  by  the  consent  of  the  Carlisle 
Presbytery,  he  accepted  the  call  from  this 
Congregation." 

About  the  middle  of  the  following 
month,  (May,  1811,)  he  arrived  in  Pitts- 
burgh, having  crossed  the  Mountains  with 
his  wife  and  children  in  the  large  road- 
wagon  which  carried  his  household  goods. 
A  lively  recollection  of  this  journey  was 
retained  by  Mrs.  Herron,  who  was  fond  of 
dwelling  upon  its  incidents,  when  in  her 
old  age  her  mind  reverted  facetiously  to  the 
occurrences  of  her  early  life. 

On  the  18th  of  June,  Dr.  Herron  met 
with  the  Presbytery  of  Ohio,  and  having 
formally  accepted  the  call,  he  was  received 
as  a  member  of  that  body,  and  duly  recog- 


36 

nized  as  the  pastor  of  this  Church.  The 
Elders  then  in  office  were  James  Cooper 
and  James  Clow.  James  O'Hara  was 
President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees ;  Boyle 
Irwin,  Treasurer  ;  Wm.  Steel,  Secretory ; 
John  Darragh,  William  McCandless,  and 
James  Irvine,  Auditors  of  Accounts;  Wm. 
Hays,  James  Arthurs,  David  Pride,  John 
Hannan,  and  James  Gibson,  Wardens. 

At  this  time  the  business  and  commercial 
interests  of  the  City  had  advanced  to  an 
encouraging  stage  of  prosperity.  A  Turn- 
pike road  was  in  progress  ;  a  line  of  Stage 
Coaches  connected  this  City  with  the  East ; 
a  branch  of  the  Bank  of  Pennsylvania  had 
been  established  ;  a  Polling  Mill  was  in 
the  course  of  erection  ;  a  Steam  Flouring 
Mill  had  been  completed,  and  Schooners, 
Galleys,  and  even  Ships,  were  being  built 
upon  our  wharves. 


61 


But,  notwithstandiDg  this  outward  pros- 
perity, when  the  young  pastor  came  to  un- 
derstand the  circumstances  in  which  he 
was  placed,  he  found  himself  in  a  position 
of  great  difficulty,  and  in  the  face  of  trials 
and  exigencies  which  would  test  him  to  the 
uttermost,  and  out  of  which  the  help  of 
God  alone  could  give  him  deliverance. 
The  Church  was  in  an  almost  hopeless  state 
of  pecuniary  embarrassment ;  but  far  worse 
than  this,  religion,  by  a  large  portion 
of  the  people,  was  utterly  discarded, 
and  with  many  of  its  professors  had 
little  more  than  the  semblance  of  form. 
The  Sessional  Record  states  that  "  the 
number  of  persons  who  then  attended  upon 
the  preaching  of  the  Word,  was  compara- 
tively small,  and  the  laxity  of  discipline 
was  equally  lamentable.'7  We  have  fre- 
quently   heard    Dr.    Herro;i  speak  of  the 


prevalence  of  fashionable  follies ;  the 
strength  of  pernicious  social  habits ;  the 
influence  of  worldliness  over  the  Church; 
and  the  mournful  absence  of  the  spirit  and 
power  of  vital  godliness,  that  characterized 
that  period. 

To  meet  and  counteract  all  this,  the 
young  pastor  girded  himself,  and  determined 
that,  in  the  strength  of  God,  he  would  pre- 
vail. He  first  commenced  in  the  pulpit. 
He  set  before  him  two  objects :  First,  to 
preach  the  simple  gospel  of  Christ,  in  its 
pointed  and  pungent  application  to  the 
hearts  and  consciences  of  his  hearers  ;  and 
then,  to  expose  their  misdoings  and  sins, 
with  the  plain,  unsparing  fidelity  of  one 
who  loved  their  souls,  and  who  had  come, 
iri  the  spirit  of  his  Master,  to  "seek  and 
save"  them.  His  preaching  did  not  fail  in 
its  effect.     It  roused    dead  formalists  and 


39 

impenitent  sinners  to  violent  opposition. 
This  was  a  most  encouraging  indication. 
Sinners  excited  to  wrath  by  a  pure  gospel, 
are  in  a  far  more  hopeful  state,  than  when 
they  sit  and  take  the  most  pungent  appli- 
cation "of  truth  with  a  stolid,  lethargic  indif- 
ference. In  the  one  case,  they  are  mani- 
festly susceptible  ;  the  truth  tells,  cuts, 
pierces ;  in  the  other,  they  are  hard, 
dead,  unimpressible,  apparently  beyond 
the  reach  of  the  truth.  Besides,  the 
reaction  from  a  state  of  opposition,  to  that 
of  acquiescence,  is  always  powerful.  Xo 
man  enters  the  Church  so  much  like  a  little 
child,  as  he  who  before  was  ready  to  gnash 
with  his  teeth.  Paul,  the  flaming  persecu- 
tor, came  led  by  the  hand,  like  a  subdued 
child,  to  Ananias  to  receive  baptism  and 
profess  Jesus.  So  the  Doctor  reasoned  at  the 
time,  and,  as  we  shall  afterward  see,  he 
was  not   mistaken.     When  the   opposition 


40 

gave  way,  it  was  like  the  letting  out  of 
waters.  It  was  however  long  continued, 
and  required  courage  and  patience  to  meet 
it,  But  the  Doctor  preached  on  in  the 
strength  of  God.  One,  writing  about  that 
time  says:  "I  well  remember  the  power  of 
his  preaching.  His  manner  was  dignified 
and  impressive  ;  his  application  of  the  truth 
was  pointed;  and  the  earnestness  with  which 
he  appealed  to  sinners  brought  the  convic- 
tion that  he  believed  all  he  uttered.  His 
denunciations  of  the  wrath  of  God  against 
the  wicked  were  most  powerful  and  alarm- 
ing, whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  he  often 
dwelt  on  the  fullness  of  the  Saviour,  and  be- 
sought men  to  be  reconciled  to  God." 

But,  besides  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel, 
other  instrumentalities  were  necessary. 
Before  a  general  impression  could  be  made 
upon  the  world  without,  a  thorough  refor- 


41 

ination  was  needful  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Church.  Christians  must  be  made  to  feel 
their  responsibility ;  led  upward  to  a  higher 
standard  of  piety,  and  outward  to  active 
efficient  labors  for  the  conversion  of  souls. 
To  effect  this,  the  Doctor  sought  to  employ 
the  Prayer  Meeting,  which  he  had  found  so 
useful  an  auxiliary  in  his  former  charge. 
But  in  this  he  met  with  discouragement, 
even  from  the  best  of  his  people,  and  open 
and  determined  hostility  from  others.  It 
was  altogether  a  novelty,  an  out-growth, 
as  they  said,  of  fanaticism,  a  Methodistical 
extravagance  that  could  not  be  tolerated. 
But  the  young  pastor  was  not  to  be  turned 
aside  from  his  holy  purpose.  He  knew  the 
delights  of  communion  with  God  ;  from 
past  experience  he  had  learned  that  God 
favored  and  smiled  upon  a  praying  people, 
and,  therefore,  he  determined  to  go  for- 
ward. 

G 


42 

In  the  execution  of  this  resolve,  he  found 

a  most  valuable  coadjutor  in  the  pastor  of 

the  Second  Church,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Hunt. 

He  was  a  man  of  a  truly  evangelical  spirit, 

and  ready  for  every  good  word  and  work. 

Accordingly,  the  two  pastors  united  in  this 

project ;  but,  as  the  opposition  was  strong 

in  both  churches,   and,  as  they  wished  to 

avoid  the  collision  which  would  ensue  from 

an  attempt  to  employ  either  church  edifice 

for   such    a    purpose,   they  appointed   the 

prayer  meeting  in  the  small  room  in  which 

Mr.  Hunt  taught  a  day  school,  and  invited 

all  who  felt  disposed  to  meet  with  them  for 

special  prayer,  to   attend.     But,  alas !    the 

spirit  of  prayer  was  wanting.     One  solitary 

man,  with  six  females,  and  the  two  Pastors, 

composed  the  meeting.     The  two  sessions 

could   furnish  but  one  praying  Elder,  and 

the  two  congregations,  but  six  females  who 

had  hearts  attuned  to  such  a  service.     JSTor 


43 

did  the  encouragements  increase  the  second 
or  third  meeting,  nor  the  fortieth  or  fiftieth 
meeting.  For  eighteen  months,  that  little 
company  continued  to  wrestle  in  faith  and 
prayer  without  a  single  addition  to  their 
number.  To  this  want  of  encouragement, 
upon  the  part  of  professing  Christians,  was 
added  an  open  and  determined  resistance 
upon  the  part  of  others.  At  first,  the  meet- 
ing excited  curiosity.  It  was  so  novel,  that 
many  did  not  properly  understand  what  it 
meant.  Accordingly,  fathers  and  husbands 
prohibited  their  wives  and  daughters  from 
attending.  Finally,  Dr.  Herron  was  waited 
upon  and  told  that  this  extravagance  could 
not  be  endured,  and  that  a  stop  must  be 
put  to  these  meetings  at  once.  To  this  the 
Doctor  replied,  with  that  imperial  majesty 
so  characteristic  of  the  man  :  "Gentlemen, 
these  meetings  will  not  stop — you  are  at 
liberty  to  do  as  you  please  ;  but  I,  also,  have 


44 

the  liberty  to  worship  God  according  to  the 
dictates  of  my  conscience,  none  daring  to 
molest  or  make  me  afraid."  "This  was, 
doubtless,  (as  Dr.  Howard  has  well  re- 
marked, in  his  history  of  the  Second 
Church,)  the  turning  point  in  the  moral 
and  spiritual  history  of  these  Cities."  Had 
these  good  men  cowered  before  the  opposi- 
tion which  seemed  ready  to  overwhelm 
them,  evangelical  religion  would  have  been 
crushed  and  ejected  from  our  midst.  But 
their  courage  and  fidelity  achieved  a  victory, 
the  blessings  of  which  are  transmitted  to 
the  present  moment.  From  the  hour  that 
Dr.  Herron  uttered  his  brave  and  deter- 
mined resolve,  the  opposition  began  to 
abate.  The  prayer  meeting  gradually  in- 
creased. A  spirit  of  piety  began  to  mani- 
fest itself  among  the  members  of  the 
Church.  The  conversion  of  numerous  in- 
dividuals, some  from  the  ranks  of  the  gay 


45 

and  fashionable,  produced  deep  impression 
on  the  whole  community.  From  that  time, 
the  cause  of  religion  in  this  Church  began 
to  prosper.  Two  new  Elders,  Jas.  Brown 
and  John  M.  Snowden,  were  at  this  time 
added  to  the  session,  and  an  increased  ef- 
ficiency began  to  evince  itself  in  every  de- 
partment of  the  Church's  work. 

But  these  were  not  the  only  difficulties  that 
encompassed  the  position  of  Dr.  Herron. 
With  this  contest  against  lukewarmness  and 
irreligion,  he  had  to  maintain,  at  the  same 
time,  an  incessant  struggle  against  the 
pecuniary  embarrassments,  which  impeded 
the  progress,  and  at  one  time  threatened 
the  ruin  of  the  Church.  In  1802,  the  Wood 
street  front  of  this  property  had  been  pur- 
chased, and  subsequently  the  old  log  struc- 
ture had  been  encased  in  brick,  and  other  im- 
provements made,  the  expense  of  which  only 


46 

to  a  very  small  extent  had  been  defrayed. 
Accordingly,  Dr.  Herron  found,  when  he 
entered  upon  his  ministry  here,  this  great 
burden  of  debt  hanging  over  the  congrega- 
tion, with  but  little  probability  of  its  being 
canceled  by  the  liberality  of  the  people. 
Yarious  temporary  expedients  for  postpone- 
ment were  devised,  but  these  were  soon  ex- 
hausted, and  in  December,  1813,  his  worst 
apprehensions  were  realized  by  the  Sheriff 
levying  upon  the  purchased  lot,  together 
with  the  Church  building,,  and  announcing 
its  exposure  to  public  sale.  This  was  an 
hour  of  great  embarrassment ;  but  the  Doc- 
tor, with  that  promptness  and  efficiency 
which  always  rendered  him  so  valuable  in 
an  exigency,  attended  the  Sheriff's  sale,  and 
purchased  the  property  in  his  own  name, 
for  the  sum  of  $2,819.  Soon  after,  he  sold 
a  small  portion  of  this  property — a  lot  60 
feet   square,  on  the  corner  of  Wood  and 


47 

Sixth  streets — to  the  Bank  of  Pittsburgh, 
as  a  site  for  their  contemplated  Banking 
House,  for  the  sum  of  $3,000.* 

With  this  money  he  paid  off  every  debt 
and  incumbrance  upon  the  Church,  recon- 
veyed  the  residue  of  the  ground  to  the  con- 
gregation, and  in  July,  1814,  three  years 
from  the  commencement  of  his  ministry, 
reported  $180  of  surplus  money  in  the 
treasury. 


*Iu  making  this  sale  to  the  Bank  it  was  agreed,  that  in  case  the  Direc- 
tors did  not  conclude  to  erect  their  Banking  House  on  the  lot,  that  the  con- 
gregation should  have  the  privilege  of  taking  back  the  ground  at  the  same 
price,  with  the  addition  of  Bank  interest.  This  agreement  was  expressed  in 
a  resolution  by  the  Directors  of  the  Bank,  a  copy  of  which  was  sent  to  the 
Trustees  of  the  Church.  In  the  year  1816,  when  it  was  determined  to  build 
the  Banking  House  in  another  locality,  the  lot  was  offered  to  the  congregation 
upon  the  terms  specified  in  the  agreement.  The  offer  was  however  declined, 
on  account  of  the  inability  of  the  congregation  to  raise  the  money. 

In  the  year  1827,  the  property  was  again  offered  to  the  congregation  for 
the  sum  originally  paid,  deducting  the  interest.  This  generous  offer  was  ac- 
cepted, and  in  order  to  meet  the  payment,  a  lot  of  36  feet  bj  60,  on  the  corner 
of  Wood  and  Sixth  streets,  was  sold  for  $2,600,  and  a  lot  of  similar  dimensions 
on  the  corner  of  Wood  street  and  Virgin  Alley,  for  $1,500.  This  enabled  the 
congregation  to  pay  $3,000  to  the  Bank,  and  to  erect  the  iron  fence  in  the 
front  of  the  Church,  with  the  residue. 


48 

Relieved  of  this  incubus  of  debt,  the  con- 
gregation now  started  upon  a  new  era  of 
prosperity.  The  popularity  of  Dr.  Herron 
as  a  preacher,  had  been  steadily  advancing. 
The  attendance  upon  his  ministry  now  in- 
creased rapidly,  and  the  demand  for  pews 
became  so  great,  that  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  enlarge  the  Church.  This  was 
done  by  removing  the  side  walls  and  en- 
larging .the  width  of  the  building,  to  an 
extent  sufficient  to  make  an  aisle  and  a  row 
of  additional  pews  on  each  side.  The  re- 
construction was  completed  in  December, 
1817,  at  which  time  the  re-sale  of  the  pews 
brought  in  an  increase  of  funds  sufficient  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  the  present  improve- 
ment, and  leave  a  surplus  large  enough  to 
authorize  the  remodeling  of  the  pulpit,  and 
the  erection  of  the  Session  Room  in  its  rear. 

To  complete  the    equipment  of    the  en- 


49 

larged  and  improved  edifice,  Gen.  O'Hara, 
who  had  long  been  identified  with  this 
Church  as  the  President  of  its  Board  of 
Trustees,  presented  to  the  congregation,  a 
large  glass  chandelier,  which  was  suspend- 
ed from  the  centre  of  the  ceiling,  and  con- 
tinued to  illuminate  and  beautify  the  sanc- 
tuary for  nearly  forty  years. 

"At  this  period  (says  the  Sessional  Rec- 
ord,) the  affairs  of  the  congregation  wore  a 
satisfactory  and  pleasing  aspect." 

As  token  of  the  gratitude  of  the  congre- 
gation, and  of  the  high  estimate  which  they 
put  upon  the  practical  efficiency  and  minis- 
terial excellence  of  their  pastor,  they  raised 
his  salary  to  fifteen  hundred  dollars — a 
large  compensation  for  that  time, — as 
creditable  to    the  generosity  of  the  people 

who  gave,  as  it  was  complimentary  to  the 

7 


50 

the  Minister,  who  was   regarded  worthy  of 
the  gift. 

In  the  year  1818,  four  new  members 
were  added  to  the  session,  William  Blair, 
Thomas  Heazleton,  J.  Thompson,  and  John 
Hannen.  In  this  year  I  find  a  record  in 
the  Minutes  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  show- 
ing the  high  value  which  was  placed  upon 
the  ministerial  qualifications  of  Dr.  Herron 
beyond  the  limits  of  his  own  congregation. 
It  is  a  letter  from  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  this 
City,  addressed  to  James  Ross,  President  of 
the  Board  of  Trustees  of  this  Church,  ex- 
pressing their  conviction  "that  it  would  con- 
tribute to  the  advancement  of  the  Redeem- 
er's Kingdom,  the  honor  of  religion,  and 
the  advantage  of  the  Presbyterian  interest, 
to  unite  both  congregations  as  a  collegiate 
charge,  under  the  pastoral  control  of  Dr. 


51 

Herron,  with  a  colleague  to  be  chosen  by 
the  joint  vote  of  the  two  congregations." 
The  proposition,  after  due  consideration, 
was  declined ;  but  I  mention  it  here  to 
show  what  a  unity  of  feeling  and  interest 
existed:  between  the  two  churches  at  that 
time,  and  how  strongly  Dr.  Herron  had  en- 
trenched himself  in  the  confidence  and  af- 
fection of  the  community. 

Among  the  many  instrumentalities  ichicli 
contributed  to  give  so  high  a  degree  of  ef- 
ficiency to  the  ministry  of  Dr.  Herron,  ice 
mention  Catechetical  Instruction,  Bible 
Classes,  and  Sunday  Schools.  His  cate- 
chetical instructions  began  soon  after  his 
settlement;  and  we  have  often  heard  him 
express  the  conviction,  that  this  good  old 
Presbyterian  usage  of  drilling  the  children 
in  the  family  and  in  the  church  in  the  let- 
ter of  the  Shorter  Catechism,  is  the  best  of 


52 

all  methods  for  impressing  evangelical  con- 
victions, and  for  training  a  generation  of 
sound,  orthodox,  intelligent  christians.  This 
system,  at  first  confined  to  the  children,  was, 
in  1823,  extended  to  the  adult  members  of 
the  congregation.  A  large  Bible  class  was 
then  formed,  composed  of  old  and  young, 
males  and  females.  This  was  conducted  by 
the  Doctor  in  person,  in  the  Church  build- 
ing, every  Sabbath  afternoon.  This  meet- 
ing was  largely  attended,  and  (as  I  am  told 
by  one  who  remembers  those  occasions  with 
lively  interest,)  greatly  blessed. 

When  the  first  Sabbath  Schools  were  or- 
ganized under  Dr.  Herron's  ministry,  it  is 
difficult  to  ascertain  accurately.  In  the  year 
1812,  a  school  for  Sabbath  instruction  was 
held  in  an  old  stable,  near  the  old  Cotton 
Mill,  in  the  upper  part  of  the  city.  It  was 
taught  by  a  gentleman,  whose  name  I  have 


53 

not  been  able  to  learn,  who  conducted  a 
day  school  in  the  vicinity.  As  public  senti- 
ment was  then  so  strongly  opposed  to  such 
measures,  he  was  not  permitted  to  hold  it 
in  his  own  school  house,  and  therefore  re- 
sorted,'with  his  six  scholars,  to  a  stable. 
One  of  those  six  boys  is  now  an  Elder  in  the 
Sixth  Presbyterian  Church,  in  this  city,  and 
remembers  with  great  interest  the  frequent 
visits  of  Dr.  Herron  to  that  school  on  Sab- 
bath mornings;  the  interest  which  he  took 
in  their  instruction;  and  the  earnestness 
with  which  he  would  tell  them  the  story  of 
the  Saviour's  dying  love.  This  humble 
school,  starting  (as  did  Christianity  itself, ) 
in  a  stable,  was  one  of  the  first  real 
Sabbath  Schools  in  the  United  States.*  It 
was  in  existence  four  years  prior  to  the 
New  York    Sunday   School  Union,  which 


*Two  other  Schools,  mentioned  in  the  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Sunday 
School  Union,  were  started  at  an  earlier  date. 


54 

was  instituted  in  1816,  and  five  years  prior 
to  the  Philadelphia  Sunday  and  Adult 
School  Union,  which  dates  its  origin  in 
1817.  This  school  was  afterward  removed 
to  another  humble  room,  near  Hog's  Pond. 
This  structure  was  soon  torn  down,  and  it 
was  taken  to  the  kitchen  of  a  Mr.  Marshall 
upon  Smithfield  Street,  and  thence  to  a 
room  on  Scotch  Hill.  In  this  locality  it 
soon  increased  in  numbers,  and  its  success 
led  to  the  formation  of  other  schools,  five 
or  six  of  which  were,  at  that  early  day,  un- 
der the  care  of  this  Church.  This  growth 
of  interest  in  Sunday  Schools,  led  to  the  for- 
mation of  a  Sunday  School  Association  in 
this  Church,  in  January,  1825,  which  was  a 
vigorous,  active,  and  highly  useful  organi- 
zation. It  superintended  the  planting  and 
training  of  a  large  number  of  Sabbath 
Schools;  and  in  doing  this,  it  exercised  and 
developed    the    christian    experience    and 


55 

character  of  many,  who  are  now  the  most 
useful  members  of  this  Church.  At  this 
time,  Dr.  Herron  having  dissipated  all  the 
prejudices  against  social  meetings  for 
prayer,  felt  greatly  the  need  of  a  building 
adapted  to  this  purpose.  To  supply  this 
want,  the  Sunday  School  Association  came 
to  his  assistance,  and  proposed  to  build  a 
house  to  answer  the  double  purpose  of  a 
Sabbath  School  and  Lecture  Room.  This 
project  was  vigorously  undertaken  and  suc- 
cessfully accomplished  in  the  summer  of 
1826;  and  from  that  time  the  Prayer  Meet- 
ing and  the  Sabbath  Schools  became  most 
valuable  auxiliaries  to  the  growth  and 
edification  of  this  Church. 

In  this  year,  1825,  a  new  sphere  of 
christian  activity  and  enterprise  was  opened 
to  Dr.  Herron.  The  General  Assembly  had 
resolved  to  establish  a  Theological  Seminary 


in  the  West;  and  a  Board  of  live  Commis- 
sioners, of  which  General  Andrew  Jackson 
was  one,  had  been  appointed  to  select  a 
location  for  the  new  Seminary.  This  sug- 
gested to  Dr.  Herron  and  Dr.  Swift,  the 
propriety  of  urging  the  claims  of  Allegheny 
City.  The  project  meeting  with  the  favor 
and  support  of  the  citizens  and  ministers  of 
this  whole  region,  Dr.  Herron  embarked  in 
the  enterprise  with  his  whole  heart,  and 
with  the  co-operation  of  Dr.  Swift  and 
others,  succeeded,  after  much  laborious  and 
skillful  effort,  in  obtaining  a  decision  in  fa- 
vor of  this  location,  by  a  majority  of  three 
votes.  The  location  settled,  the  institution 
had  to  be  organized,  manned  and  support- 
ed. All  this  involved  an  expenditure  of 
time  and  labor,  and  a  burden  of  care  and 
responsibility,  from  which  the  Doctor  never 
shrank  for  a  moment.  Dr.  Swift  devoted 
himself  temporarily  to   the    instructions  of 


57 

the  institution,  whilst  Dr.  Herron  assumed, 
to  a  large  extent,  the  toils  and  anxieties  of 
its  sustenance.  To  this  he  devoted  him- 
self for  years,  with  unwearied  assiduity  ; 
and  to  no  one  man,  living  or  dead,  does 
this  institution  owe  a  greater  debt  of  grati- 
tude. Next  to  this  congregation,  the  Semi- 
nary occupied  the  first  place  in  his  heart.* 
I  do  not  think  it  is  too  much  to  say  that  for 
years  he  carried  it  upon  his  shoulders.     He 


*  The  Hexrt  Library,  which  has  been  of  much  value  to  this  Seminary, 
was  procured  by  Dr.  Herron,  under  the  following  circumstances  :  He  was 
appointed,  at  ai  early  day,  as  a  Director  in  Princeton  Seminary,  and  this 
position  he  held  for  some  time  after  Allegheny  Seminary  was  organized.  On 
one  occasion,  when  traveling  to  Princeton  to  a  Meeting  of  the  Board,  he 
was  joined  in  Philadelphia  by  Alexander  Henry,  Esq,  who  was  also  on  his 
way  to  Princeton  for  the  same  purpose.  Mr.  Henry's  son,  the  Rev.  Charlton 
Henry,  Pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina, 
had  died  but  a  short  time  before,  and  his  father  had  been  thinking  of  pre. 
senting  to  Princeton  Seminary  the  valuable  library,  which  his  son,  just  be- 
fore his  decease,  hil  githered  during  a  visit  to  Europe.  Dr.  Herron,  dis 
covering  his  intention  during  the  course  of  conversation,  urged  the  claims 
of  Allegheny  Seminary,  as  a  new  institution  just  starting,  and  needing  above 
all  things  just  such  a  treasure  as  this.  When  they  arrived  at  Princeton,  the 
desire  of  Dr.  Herron  was  mentioned  to  Dr.  Alexander,  and  Di.  Miller,  both 
of  whom,  with  characteristic  generosity,  favored  the  proposal.  Accordingly  , 
Mr.  Henry  made  the  donation,  the  advantages  of  which  our  Seminary  is 
reaping  to  the  present  hour. 

8 


58 

watched  at  its  nativity,  nursed  its  infant  life, 
nourished  it  with  the  bread  of  his  own  indus- 
try, and  then,  in  his  old  age,  enjoyed  the  rich 
luxury  of  rejoicing  in  its  prosperity. 

In  the  winter  of  1827  and  1828,  the  heart 
of  the  Doctor  was  greatly  encouraged,  and 
his  years  of  toil  and  patience  abundantly 
compensated    by   the    rich    blessing   that 
crowned  his  labors.     The  Spirit  was  poured 
out  from  on  high,  and  a  revival  of  religion, 
deep,  powerful,    and   extensive,  continued 
for  months,  the  memory  of  which  is   still 
precious  to   many  now  present,  who  look 
back  to  that   neriod  as  the    date  of  their 
birth  into   the  Kingdom.     The  facts  in  re- 
ference   to    this   interesting  work,  I  have 
gathered    from    conversations  with   many 
who  mingled  in  those    scenes,  and  from  a 
statement  given  me  by  Dr.  Campbell,  who 
rendered   most   efficient   assistance  during 


59 

the  whole  period.  Their  work  of  grace 
commenced  without  any  very  special  pre- 
monitory indications.  After  a  Wednesday 
evening  prayer  meeting  about  the  middle 
of  Dec.  1827,  Dr.  Herron,  Dr.  Campbell  and 
five  or  six  others,  tarried  around  the  stove 
after  the  congregation  had  retired,  and  the 
conversation  turned  upon  the  state  of  re- 
ligion in  the  Church,  and  the  importance  of 
christians  praying  for  a  revival  of  God's 
work.  Their  minds  immediately  became 
so  much  interested,  that  it  was  proposed  to 
engage  in  prayer  upon  the  spot.  The 
spirit  of  supplication  seemed  to  be  imparted 
to  that  little  company,  and  when  they  sepa- 
rated it  was  with  the  understanding  that 
they  would  meet  again  upon  Saturday  eve- 
ning. This,  again,  was  a  time  of  much 
earnestness,  and  they  parted  with  a  secret 
hope  that  God  was  about  to  reveal  himself 
in  power.     This,  together  with  an  account 


60 

which  the  Doctor  received  of  a  female 
prayer  meeting,  held  in  the  room  of  that 
sainted  mother,  Mrs.  Irish,  stimulated  him 
to  preach,  on  the  following  morning,  with 
unusual  power  and  solemnity.  At  the  close 
of  the  service,  he  gave  notice  that  he  "would 
preach  in  the  evening  on  rather  an  unusual 
subject.'7  This  brought  a  large  audience, 
and  he  announced  as  his  text,  Habakkuk, 
3d  chapter  and  7th  verse:  "0  Lord,  revive 
thy  work  in  the  midst  of  the  years ;  in 
the  midst  of  the  years  make  known,  in 
wrath  remember  mercy."  From  this  text 
he  preached  a  powerful  sermon  upon  re- 
vivals of  religion,  in  which  an  unction 
seemed  poured  upon  him  from  on  high,  and 
a  spirit  of  conviction  upon  the  whole  as- 
sembly. At  the  close  of  the  service,  he  in- 
vited any  who  wished  to  remain  for  a  season 
of  special  prayer,  to  go  with  him  into  the 
Lecture  Room ;  but  added,  in  his  emphatic 


61 

way,  that  he  did  not  wish  any  to  come  ex- 
cept those  who  were  really  anxious  to  pray 
for  themselves  and  others.  To  his  great 
delight,  he  found  the  Lecture  Room  filled, 
crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity — seats,  aisles, 
and  everywhere.  It  was  now  manifest  that 
God  was  truly  present  in  his  power.  The 
prayers  were  melting,  and  the  feeling  in- 
tense, and  many  went  away  saying,  "that 
they  had  never  felt  so  awfully  solemn  be- 
fore." This  led  the  Doctor  to  appoint  a 
meeting  on  Monday  evening,  with  a  similar 
result,  and  thus  a  series  of  meetings  com- 
menced, which  were  continued  daily,  and 
sometimes  twice  a  day,  for  three  or  four 
months.  The  interest  seemed  for  a  Jong 
time  to  deepen  every  day.  The  Church 
was  thoroughly  aroused,  and  multitudes 
from  the  world  without  presented  them- 
selves as  subjects  for  prayer.  Dr.  Campbell 
devoted  himself  wholly  to   the  work,   and 


62 

labored  side  by  side  with  Dr.  Herron  in 
every  meeting.  Father  Patterson  also 
came  to  preach  and  pray  with  his  great, 
glowing  heart, — Dr.  Brown,  Mr.  Andrews, 
and  Father  Johnston,  rendered  occasional 
assistance  ;  and  so  the  work  of  God  went 
on  until  at  the  communion,  held  on  the 
second  Sabbath  of  January,  thirty-five  per- 
sons united  with  the  Church,  on  profession 
of  faith,  and  twenty  upon  certificate.  Af- 
ter this  communion  the  work  seemed  to 
deepen.  The  Lecture  Room  would  no 
longer  hold  the  people,  and  they  were  com- 
pelled to  open  the  Church.  The  weather, 
during  the  whole  term  was  so  rainy,  that  it 
was  known  afterward  as  "the  wet  winter  f 
the  mud,  in  the  absence  of  good  pavements, 
was  very  deep,  and  the  streets  without  gas, 
very  dark.  But,  notwithstanding  all,  the 
people  came ;  no  inclemency  diminished 
the    audience,  for    they    were    deeply    in 


63 

earnest,  and  unwilling  that  there  should  be 
any  let  or  hindrance  in  the  matter  of  their 
souls'  salvation.     Another  communion  was 
appointed  on  the  first  Sabbath  of  March, 
and  twenty-seven  persons  more  were  added 
to  this  Church,  and  an  equal  number  to  the 
Second  Church,  then  under  the  ministry  of 
Dr.   Swift.      During  this  period,   meetings 
for  prayer  were  held   in  different  parts  of 
the  congregation.     The   meeting  in  Bush- 
neFs  School  House,  near    the   Point,   was 
blessed  in  an  especial  manner.     When  con- 
verts came  to  be  examined  for  admission 
to  the  Church,  it  was  found  that  a  large 
number  received  their  first  impressions  in 
that  meeting.     Dr.  Herron  was  accustomed 
to  refer  to  this  as    a  genuine   revival,  and 
eminently    pure    in   its   results,      Among 
other  gratifying  incidents,  was  the  conver- 
sion of  several  persons,  who  afterward  be- 
came Ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and  of  three 


64 

of  the  Doctor's  own  family,  whom  he  had  the 
joy  of  welcoming  to  the  Table  of  the  Lord. 
As  the  result  of  this  new  development  of 
spiritual  strength,  three  new  Elders  were 
set  apart  to  the  work  of  God — Harmar 
Denny,  William  Plumer,  and  James  Wil- 
son. 

Another  blessed  season  of  revival  occurred 
in  tlie  year  1832.  It  commenced  under 
circumstances  of  unusual  interest,  which 
we  remember  to  have  heard  Dr.  Herron 
relate  with  much  feeling.  He  had  gone 
from  home,  in  company  with  Father  Mc- 
Curdy,  to  assist  in  a  revival  of  religion, 
which  was  in  progress  under  the  ministry 
of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Tait.  Amidst  this 
blessed  scene  of  refreshing  they  labored  for 
some  time,  and  at  length  returned,  each  to 
his  own  charge,  greatly  refreshed  in  spirit, 
and  encouraged  by  the  evidences  of  Divine 


65 

power  which  they  had  witnessed.  Dr.  Her- 
ron  preached  upon  the  following  Sabbath, 
and  it  was  manifest  that  the  power  of  God 
was  present  in  the  assembly.  During  the 
evening  service  the  impression  was  so  great, 
that  all- felt,  that  in  truth  God  had  visited 
his  people.  This  induced  the  Doctor  to  ap- 
point a  series  of  meetings;  and  he  immedi- 
ately wrote  to  Father  McCurdy  to  come  to 
his  assistance,  that  a  revival  of  religion  had 
commenced  in  power.  To  this  letter  Fa- 
ther McCurdy  immediately  replied/  "he 
could  not  come,  that  God  had  poured  out 
his  Spirit  upon  his  congregation  on  the  same 
day,  and  he  was  surrounded  by  sinners, 
who  were  inquiring  '  What  they  should  do 
to  be  saved,'  "  This  circumstance  affected 
the  mind  of  Dr.  Herron  deeply,  and  stimu- 
lated him  to  enter  with  new  vigor  into  the 
work.       The   meetings  increased  daily  in 

interest.     The  people  of  God  became  deep- 
9 


66 

ly  enlisted  in  prayer,  and  a  divine  influence 
continued  for  a  long  time  to  descend  "  like 
rain  upon  the  mown  grass."  In  a  few  days 
it  was  found  that  between  sixty  and  seventy 
persons  were  inquiring  the  "way  to  Zion, 
with  their  faces  thitherward/'7 

The  solemnity  of  this  occasion  was 
greatly  deepened  by  the  sadden  death 
of  Father  Patterson,  who  had  been  pres- 
ent as  a  helper  in  the  work.  A  private 
letter,  written  at  the  time,  furnishes  this 
record :  "One  of  our  saints  last  night 
took  his  station  before  the  throne  to 
receive  his  crown  of  glory,  and  a  bright 
one  it  will  surely  be.  Dear  old  Father 
Patterson,  at  one  o'clock  last  night,  put 
off  mortality.  In  the  morning  he  sat  for 
his  portrait;  dined  at  his  son's  ;  prayed  in 
the  family  at  night,  and  became  so  much  en- 
gaged that  his  wife  had  to  lift  him  from  his 


67 

knees;  went  to  bed  as  usual;  but  "at  midnight 
a  cry  was  made,  'Behold  the  Bridegroom 
cometh;'  "  and  in  perfect  readiness,  with  his 
lamp  trimmed  and  burning,  he  went  forth 
to  meet  the  Bridegroom,  and  entered  with 
him  into  the  joy  of  the  Lord."  This  sud- 
den event  seemed  directed  by  the  Provi- 
dence of  God  to  deepen  and  extend  the 
work  already  begun.  The  interest  con- 
tinued for  a  long  period,  and  produced  its 
fruits  during  two  successive  years.  The 
first  year,  1832,  fifty-four  persons  united 
with  the  Church  on  profession  of  faith,  and 
twenty-eight  on  certificate  ;  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing year,  nineteen  were  added  on  exam- 
ination, and  thirteen  on  certificate;  making 
in  all  one  hundred  and  fourteen  additions 
to  the   Church. 

The    session  was  again    replenished   by 
the     addition     of    John      Herron,     John 


68 

Wright,  Eichard  Edwards,  Alex.  Laugh- 
lin,  James  H.  Davis,  and  James  Han- 
son to  the  Eldership.  The  congregation 
now  being  large  and  strong,  a  company  of 
young  colonists,  with  the  counsel  and  en- 
couragement of  their  pastor,  went  off  and 
organized  the  Third  Presbyterian  Church, 
which  soon  became  a  centre  of  blessed, 
sanctified  influence  to  this  whole  com- 
munity. 

The  year  1835  was  marked  by  the  occur- 
rence of  what  is  usually  misnamed  "the 
Great  Revival,"  on  account  of  the  great 
excitement  by  which  it  was  attended,  and 
the  wide  influence  it  exerted  in  almost  all 
the  churches  of  the  city.  In  this  excite- 
ment Dr.  Herron  was  deeply  and  power- 
fully enlisted.  It  did  not  originate  under 
his  own  preaching,  (for  that  was  always  so 
purely  evangelical  as  never  to  occasion  any 


69 

extravagance,)  but  under  the  ministry  of 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Gallagher,  a  celebrated  revi- 
valist, who  preached  enough  of  truth  to 
produce  real  genuine  conversions,  and 
enough  of  error  to  awaken  enthusiastic  ex- 
travagancies. The  excitement  of  that  win- 
ter was  beyond  all  parallel  in  the  history 
of  these  cities.  It  entered  all  the  churches, 
and  reached  almost  every  class  in  the  com- 
munity. The  whole  public  mind  was  im- 
pressed ;  singing  could  be  heard  in  the 
hotels  and  along  the  streets ;  wherever  Mr. 
Gallagher  preached  the  Church  was  crowd- 
ed; he  would  sometimes  leave  the  pulpit 
and  preach  up  and  clown  the  aisles  of  the 
church;  anxious  benches  were  brought  for- 
ward, and  the  awakened  invited  to  them 
for  prayer  and  conversation.  Dr.  Herron 
was  captivated  by  the  warmth  and  earnest- 
ness of  the  man,  and  co-operated  with  him  - 
in  measures,  the  results  of  which  he  after- 


70 

Weird  regretted.  When  the  harvest  was 
gathered,  there  was  some  wheat,  but  much 
chaff.  Some  excellent  christians  were 
born  again  under  those  influences,  and 
live  to  attest  the  presence  and  power 
of  the  Divine  Spirit ;  but  many  spurious 
converts,  and  some  dreadful  apostates,  live 
to  evince  the  fact,  that  there  was  another 
spirit  also  at  work :  an  enemy  sowing  tares 
amidst  the  wheat.  The  presence  of  Dr. 
Herron,  and  other  good,  sound  men,  in  the 
midst  of  these  scenes  assisting  by  their 
prayers,  exhortations,  and  conversations, 
accounts  sufficiently  for  the  presence  of  the 
wheat.  They  sowed  the  good  seed,  and  the 
Spirit  of  God  acknowledged  their  labors. 
At  this  time  fifty-six  persons  were  added  to 
this  Church  upon  the  profession  of  their 
faith,  and  proportionate  numbers  to  almost 
all  the  churches  in  the  city. 


71 

The  re-action  that  followed  this  season  of 
excitement,  was  sad  and  painful.  A  depres- 
sion, proportionate  to  the  previous  stimula- 
tion, was  felt  in  the  experience  of  individu- 
als, and  in  the  activity  of  the  churches.  In 
this  church  a  season  of  spiritual  drought 
ensued.  In  the  following  year,  but  five 
persons,  in  the  next,  but  two,  and  in  the 
next,  but  one,  were  added  to  the  Church. 

Dr.  Herron  was  not,  however,  left  long 
to  mourn  the  absence  of  God's  power. 
The  years  1840,  1841,  and  1843,  were 
again  years  of  the  right  hand  of  the  Most 
High.  The  incidents  of  this  period  we  have 
not  time  to  detail.  The  abundant  blessing 
of  God  rested  upon  this  Church,  and  forty- 
nine,  twenty-eight,  and  thirty-seven  per- 
sons were  successively  added  to  its  mem- 
bership. The  ranks  of  the  Eldership  hav- 
ing been   again  thinned  by  death   and  re- 


72 

movals,  four  new  members  were,  in  the 
year  1840,  added  to  the  Session  :  Frederick 
Lorenz,  Francis  Bailey,  Hugh  M'Clelland, 
and  R.  W.  Poindexter. 

Dr.  Herron  had  now,  nearly,  numbered  his 
"three  score  years  and  ten;11  yet  with  a  sur- 
prising vigor  and  efficiency,  he  continued 
all  the  duties  of  the  ministerial  office,  till 
the  year  1850,  when,  having  completed 
his  76th  year,  he  resigned  his  pastoral 
charge,  under  the  conviction  that  like  Elijah 
he  must  soon  depart,  and  with  a  strong  de- 
sire ere  he  went  up  to  glory,  to  see  another 
called  and  inaugurated  in  the  pastoral  suc- 
cession. The  desire  of  his  heart  w^as  grati- 
fied. A  successor  was  indicated  by  the 
Providence  of  G-od.  He  received  him  with 
open  arms,  and  cherished  him  with  the  mag- 
nanimity of  his  great  christian  heart,  and 
the    tenderness    of    a    parental    affection. 


73 

This  done,  he  felt  that  his  mission  was  ac- 
complished, and  he  was  ready  (as   he   ex- 
pressed it  at  the  Communion  Table,)  to  say, 
with  aged  Simeon,    "Lord,  lettest  now  thy 
servant  depart  in  peace."     But  this  prayer 
was  not  speedily  to  be  answered.     There 
was  yet  a  work,  as  important  as  any  of  his 
life,  reserved  for  him  in  the  Providence  of 
God — the  exemplification  of  the  beauties  of 
the  christian  character,  and  of  the  sustain- 
ing and  comforting  power  of  true  religion, 
amid  the  trials  and  infirmities  of  old  age. 
No   work  of    his    life    did    he    discharge 
so   admirably  as  this.     His   happy,   green 
old  age  was  a  refreshment  to  every  behold- 
er.    The  admirable    grace  with  which  he 
retired  from  official   position;  the  strength 
with  which  he  sustained  domestic  affliction; 
the  fresh  and  almost  youthful  sympathies  of 
his  heart;  the  cheerful,  happy  beaming  of 

his  countenance ;  the  warm  outflow  of  his 
10 


74 

genial  affections;  the  depth  and  fervor  of 
his  matured  piety:  and  all  the  luxuriant 
fruitage  of  autumn  life,  carried  forward 
and  flourishing  green  and  unwithered  amid 
the  frosts  and  snows  of  winter,  fastened  the 
conviction  upon  every  heart,  of  the  inesti- 
mable value  of  that  religion  which  can  en- 
circle age  and  death  with  such  a  crown  of 
glory. 

The  bereavement,  which,  in  June,  1855, 
deprived  him  of  the  beloved  wife  who 
had  shared  the  aspirations  of  his  youth  j 
strengthened  the  energies  of  his  manhood ; 
relieved  the  cares  of  his  household ,  and 
sympathised  and  co-operated  in  the  issues 
of  his  ministry,  seemed  sanctified  and  di- 
rected in  the  Providence  of  God,  as  the 
last  disciplinary  ordeal  to  mellow  his  expe- 
rience, and  plume  his  spirit  for  its  heavenly 
flight.     When  at  last  death  came,  it  found 


75 

him  ready  and  waiting  for  the  "Horsemen 
and  the  Chariot."  He  had  no  preparation 
to  make.  His  earthly  cares  had  all  been 
set  in  order,  and  his  spirit  was  ready  with 
the  "wedding  garment"  on.  He  expressed 
his  conviction  that  all  was  well,  and  then — 

"He  wrapped  the  drapery  of  his  couch 
About  him,  and  lay  down  to  pleasant  dreams." 

He  died  as  if  he  was  leaning  his  head  upon 
the  bosom  of  Jesus,  and  breathing  his  life 
out  sweetly  there.  With  a  dying  breath, 
soft  and  quiet  as  an  infant's  slumber,  his 
soul  melted  away  into  the  light  of  heaven. 


SECOND     DISCOURSE. 

iC£ov  l)e  rocis  a  gooo  man,  anb  full  of  tfjc  ijols 
(5!)ost  ana  of  faitl),  anb  mud)  peaplc  tnas  abbcb 
ltnta  tl)C  Corb.1'— Act?  11  :  24. 

Nothing  is  more  difficult  or  delicate,  than 
to  speak  from  the  pulpit  in  a  becoming 
manner  of  the  character  and  worth  of  a 
departed  minister.  The  language  of  glow- 
ing eulogy,  which  the  personal  feelings  cf 
the  speaker  dictate,  or  the  affectionate  ad- 
miration of  a  sorrowing  congregation  re- 
quires, might  be  offensive  to  Hdi  "who 
will  not  give  his  glory  to  another,  or  his 
praise  to  graven  images.''  Happily,  in  our 
text  we  have  an  inspired  directory,  teach- 
ing us  how  to  delineate  the  worth  of  the 


IS 

man,  and  at  the  same  time,  to  reflect  the 
glory  of  God. 

"He  was  a  good  man,  full  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  of  faith.1'  This  was  the  eulogium 
which  the  Spirit  of  Truth  pronounced  upon 
Barnabas.  When  Human  Wisdom  utters 
its  panegyric,  it  says,  "He  was  a  great  man/1 
but  when  Divine  Wisdom  utters  its  eulogy, 
it  says,  "He  was  a  good  man."  Greatness  is 
the  gift  of  Nature,  but  goodness  is  the  gift 
of  Grace.  Greatness  may  be  linked  with 
vice,  but  goodness  is  the  golden  bond  of 
fellowship  with  God. 

But,  lest  we  should  mistake  in  what  good- 
ness consists,  the  Spirit  of  Truth  indicates 
in  our  text  its  two  constituent  elements : — "He 
was  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith." 
Goodness,  then,  is  not  a  mere  negation,  as 
some  suppose.    It  does  not  consist  simply  in 


79 

the  absence  of  vicious  conduct  or  evil  pro- 
pensities; nor  is  it  merely  that  tameness  of  na- 
tural character,  which  bears  good-naturedly 
the  jostle  of  social  contact.  Goodness, 
upon  the  other  hand,  is  a  real,  positive, 
living  virtue — consisting,  first,  in  the  exer- 
cise of  a  faith  which  works  for  God;  and, 
secondly,  in  an  indwelling  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which  quickens  and  sanctifies  the 
life. 

Whilst  this  was  the  character  of  Bar- 
nabas, it  was  also,  as  the  text  indicates,  the 
secret  of  his  ministerial  success: — "And  much 
people  was  added  unto  the  Lord."  He  was 
eminently  useful — the  means  of  winning 
many  souls  to  Christ ;  not  because  of  his 
learning,  or  talents,  or  eloquence,  but 
simply  because  he  was  "a  good  man,  full  of 
faith  and  the  Holy  Ghost." 


80 

What  is  here  recorded  of  Barnabas,  may 
be  adopted,  in  all  the  fullness  of  its  import, 
as  the  eulogium  of  our  departed  Father. 
He  was  a  "good  man" — good  in  the  high- 
est and  best  sense;  good  both  to  the  eye  of 
man  and  of  God: — "He  was  full  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith,"  and,  as  a  conse- 
quence, he  was  an  eminently  successful 
minister: — "Much  people  was  added  unto 
the  Lord." 

Having  already  narrated  the  events  of 
his  life,  let  us  now  proceed,  in  the  spirit  of 
the  text,  to  delineate  his  character  and 

ESTIMATE    HIS    WORTH. 

In  doing  this,  it  will  be  necessary  to  view 
him,  first,  as  a  Man.  There  is  such  an  inti- 
mate and  indissoluble  connection  between 
the  man,  the  christian,  and  the  minister, 
that  should  we  fail  to  estimate  either  aright 


81 

if  we  overlook  the  relation  of  the  one  to  the 
other.  There  is  a  basis  of  natural  tempera- 
ment and  disposition,  which  gives  individu- 
ality or  idiosyncrasy  to  the  character  of 
every  one.  This  is  not  destroyed  or  essen- 
tially altered  by  the  operation  of  Divine 
Grace,  but  only  modified  and  redirected. 
Hence,  these  natural  traits  individualize, 
and  give  form,  complexion,  and  expressive- 
ness to  the  christian  ;  whilst  both  combined 
mould  the  character  of  the  minister,  and 
determine  the  peculiar  qualities  and  ele- 
ments of  power  by  which  his  public  life  is 
signalized.  This  was  forcibly  exemplified 
in  the  case  of  the  Apostles.  Neither  the 
''washing  of  regeneration,"  nor  the  inspira- 
tion of  the  Divine  Spirit,  produced  a  uniform- 
ity of  christian  characteristics;  or  a  similarity, 
much  less  an  identity,  of  ministerial  gifts. 
Paul,  with  his  strong  intellectuality  ;  Peter, 

11 


82 

with  his  earnest  impulsiveness  ;  John,  with 
his  glowing  affection ;  Thomas,  with  his  in- 
credulous spirit  of  inquiry;  Philip,  with 
his  deep  reasonings  about  the  Infinite,  say- 
ing, "Show  us  the  Father  and  it  sufficeth 
us," — constituted  a  ministerial  group  in 
which  each  differed  from  the  other,  "as  one 
star  differs  from  another  in  glory."  This 
was  not  a  diversity  of  religious  experience, 
owing  to  the  different  operations  of  the 
selfsame  Spirit,  but  of  natural  temperament, 
of  mental  and  moral  constitution,  trans- 
fusing their  christian  life,  and  giving  to 
each  a  characteristic  individuality,  and  a 
distinct  and  peculiar  ministry.  As,  there- 
fore, it  is  plain  that  it  is  the  man  which,  in 
a  measure,  forms  the  christian,  and  both 
combined,  the  minister,  let  us  contemplate 
Dr.  Herron : — 


First — As  a   Man. 

Let  us  endeavor  to  ascertain  the  basis  of 
natural  character  upon  which  his  graces,  as  a 
christian,  and  his  qualifications,  as  a  minis- 
ter, were  predicated. 

There  are  two  classes  of  men — those  who 
are  made  by  the  times,  and  those  who  are 
made  for  the  times.  The  former  are  straws 
borne  upon  the  current ;  clay  moulded  to 
shape  by  the  plastic  force  of  circumstances. 
They  are  mere  echos  of  the  sentiment,  re- 
flections of  the  spirit  of  the  times.  The 
latter  (a  very  small  class  indeed,)  are  men 
of  nerve,  will,  power — moulding  instead  of 
being  moulded;  breasting  the  current  rather 
than  floating  on  its  surface.  They  are 
generic  forces  originating  thought,  creating 
circumstances  and  propelling  society  in  their 


84 

own  way,  and  for  their  own  purposes. 
Such  men  stamp  their  own  impress  upon 
the  community  in  which  they  live,  work 
reformations,  and  originate  eras  of  progress 
and  improvement. 

Of  this  class,  Dr.  Herron  was  a  striking 
example.  He  was  a  man  of  nerve  and 
power ;  he  had  the  elements  of  force  and 
influence  in  himself;  a  man  made  for  the 
times,  to  reform  the  times ;  to  control  and 
redirect  the  forces  which  shape  the  opinions 
and  mould  the  feelings  of  the  community. 
He  was  one  of  those  men  who  seem,  in 
the  Providence  of  God,  to  be  born  to  in- 
fluence ;  his  simple  presence  was  a  power  ■ 
he  claimed  nothing,  but  men  spontaneously 
yielded  to  him  the  precedence.  He  was 
a  man  who  never  could  have  been  hid- 
den ;  formed  by  nature  for  a  leader,  his 
influence    would    have    been   felt  in    any 


85 

sphere.  Had  he  been  a  soldier,  he  must 
have  risen  to  the  command  ;  a  politician,  he 
would  have  been  the  leader  of  his  party ; 
had  his  lot  been  cast  in  the  humblest  posi- 
tion of  life,  he  would  have  risen  to  the  first 
station  in  society.  Nothing  could  have 
kept  him  down ;  not  because  he  aspired,  but 
because  it  was  his  nature  to  rise  ;  not  be- 
cause he  claimed  a  pre-eminence,  but  be- 
because  he  had  that  peculiar  something, 
which  made  all  others  push  him  upward. 

This  natural  force,  sanctified  by  the  Grace 
of  God,  was  a  potent,  restraining  and  re- 
formatory influence  in  this  community. 
Vice  cowered  before  his  glance ;  a  mean 
man  could  not  stand  in  his  presence  ;  per- 
nicious social  habits  and  worldly  follies, 
though  entrenched  behind  wealth  and  cus- 
tom, could  not  withstand  the  force  of  his 
opposition.      Good   men    felt   his  power, 


86 

and  instinctively  yielded  to  his  control. 
He  was  a  centre  to  which  other  influences 
were  attracted,  and  around  which  they 
revolved.  His  plans  commanded  confi- 
dence ;  his  approbation  was  a  guarantee  of 
success ;  his  word,  with  those  who  knew 
him,  had  the  force  of  law,  and  his  opposi- 
tion few  men  had  the  courage  to  encounter. 

It  may  be  well  to  trace  and  analyze 
the  elements  of  this  personal  power.  In- 
fluence, with  many  men,  is  owing  to  the 
predominence  of  some  one  commanding 
faculty ;  but  with  Dr.  Herron  it  arose  from 
an  unusual  combination  of  a  multitude  of 
qualities  : 

Among  these  we  notice  : — 

Firstly — His  personal  presence.  This 
alone   would   have    given    him    influence. 


87 

No  one  ever  stood  in  his  presence  without 
feeling  its  power.  There  was  something 
in  his  appearance  and  mien,  that  disarmed 
prejudice  and  commanded  confidence.  Few 
men  have  ever  been  favored  with  a  physical 
organism  so  dignified  and  imposing.  His 
noble,  manly  frame  was  tall,  muscular; 
strongly  developed,  yet  compactly  knit, 
and  well  adjusted  in  its  proportions.  His 
voice  was  clear  and  strong,  yet  mingling  a 
tone  of  kindness  with  authority,  so  as  both 
to  win  and  to  command.  His  face  was 
well  moulded  with  every  manly  lineament; 
health  glowing  upon  his  rounded  cheek  ; 
decision  expressed  in  the  wrinkles  of  his 
compressed  lips ;  sagacity  glancing  from 
his  eye;  command  enthroned  upon  his 
brow,  and  an  expression  of  benevolence 
overspreading  his  whole  countenance.  All 
this  was  combined  with  a  calmness  and 
gravity  of  deportment,  a  loftiness  of  spirit, 


an  earnestness  and  energy  of  manner,  and, 
in  his  old  age,  with  a  venerable  Patriarchal 
aspect,  deepening  as  the  frosts  of  winter 
whitened  his  locks,  and  gathered  like  a  crown 
of  glory  upon  his  head.  Before  such  a  pres- 
ence it  was  impossible  to  withhold  the 
homage  of  respect  and  admiration.  The 
little  child  would  stop  his  play  upon  the 
street,  and  gaze  with  timid  wonder  as  he 
passed.  The  stranger  would  cast  a  glance 
of  pleasure  at  such  a  noble  specimen  of  a 
man  ;  and  all  who  knew  him,  instinctively, 
conceded  precedence  to  his  person,  weight 
to  his  opinions,  and  authority  to  his  plans 
and  appointments. 

Secondly — -A  second  element  of  his   per- 
sonal influence  was  frankness,  candor,  and 

MANIFEST    HONESTY    OF    PURPOSE.       This  Was 

always  so  apparent,  that  even  a  stranger 
could  perceive,  at  first  glance,  that  he  was 


89 

in  the  presence  of  an  open,  ingenuous  man. 
There  was  nothing  concealed  or  ambiguous, 
either  in  the  purpose  at  which  he  aimed,  or 
the  mode  in  which  he  accomplished  it. 
His  intercourse  with  men  was  so  truthful, 
and  his  recoil  from  the  indirect  and  disin- 
genuous, so  strong,  that  his  manner  had 
sometimes  the  appearance  of  bluntness ; 
but  it  was  so  manifestly  the  bluntness  of 
open,  guileless  sincerity,  that  it  inspired  the 
confidence  aud  won  the  regard  of  all  around 
him. 

To  this  he  added  : — 

Thirdly — Great  decision  of  character. 
The  force  and  vigor  of  his  will  was  one  of 
the  chief  elements  of  his  power.  This  is 
the  secret  of  effectiveness  in  every  depart- 
ment of  life.  r>ro  man  ever  rose  to  great- 
ness, or  achieved  victories  either  for  Gocl  or 
12 


90 

man,  that  was  not  distinguished  by  a  will 
that  ignores  impossibilities.  Invincible  de  • 
termination  levels  the  mountains,  and 
bridges  the  chasms  in  the  pathway  of  suc- 
cess. Such  a  will  was  his — as  strong  and 
persistent  in  contending  with  difficulties  and 
executing  his  purposes,  as  it  was  quick  and 
sagacious  in  choosing  the  right  object,  and 
in  determining  the  best  plan.  It  was 
this  that  made  him  a  leader.  Weaker 
men  drew  toward  him,  and  clung  around 
him  as  the  ivv  around  the  oak.  His  de- 
cision,  however  was  not  willfulness  ;  nor 
his  persistence  stubbornness.  Dogmatism 
and  obstinacy  are  the  characteristics  of  an 
unbalanced  and  inharmonious  moral  and 
mental  constitution.  In  his  character, 
however,  there  was  a  beautiful  counterpoise. 
His  will  was  modified,  and  held  in  subordi- 
nation, by  another  characteristic,  which  we 
mention  as  the  : — ■ 


91 

Fourth  element  of  his  personal  influ- 
ence— GOODNESS  OF  HEART,  KINDNESS  OF 
FEELING — A  TENDER  AND  SYMPATHETIC  REGARD 

for  others.  He  was  a  fine  impersonation 
of  Banyan's  character  Great  Heart.  He 
was  not  only  a  man  of  feeling,  but  of  warm, 
noble,  generous  feelings.  He  had  a  big 
heart,  and  it  was  full  of  tender  sensibilities, 
high  impulses,  and  warm  affections.  Nor 
did  these  feelings  lie  so  deep,  as  to  be  only 
occasionally  stirred.  His  heart  was  not  a 
well,  requiring  line  and  bucket  to  reach  its 
bottom,  but  a  fountain  always  full  and  ever 
flowing.  His  heart  was  as  open  as  his  hand, 
and  the  first  impression  he  made,  was  that 
of  a  warm,  cordial,  sympathetic  man. — 
Hence,  his  almost  boundless  hospitality,  for 
his  house  was  the  home  of  every  stranger  ; 
his  liberal  charities — liberal  almost  to  a 
proverb ;  and  his  generous  donations  to  the 
Boards  and  Benevolent  organizations  of  the 


92 

Church — for  you  all  know,  that  whilst 
there  was  a  penny  in  his  purse  it  was  never 
closed.  It  was  this  that  gave  symmetry  to 
his  character.  He  had  too  much  benevo- 
lence to  be  willful,  and  too  tender  a  regard 
for  the  feelings  and  sentiments  of  others,  to 
be  obstinate  or  intolerant  in  the  enforce- 
ment of  his  own.  In  this  very  thing,  how- 
ever, lay  the  secret  of  his  success.  His  de- 
cision, softened  by  kindness,  melted  down 
the  barriers  of  opposition,  and  opened  up 
doors  which  would  have  been  bolted  and 
barred  against  the  progress  of  a  mere  iron 
will.  In  this  way  his  kindness  gave  ef- 
ficiency to  his  decision.  The  warmth  of  the 
sun  does  not  abate,  but  increase  its  power. 
Its  heat,  according  to  the  fable,  succeeded  in 
displacing  the  cloak  of  the  traveler,  when 
all  the  force  and  bluster  of  Boreas  could 
not  wrench  it  from  him. 


93 

Fifthly — Another  natural  characteristic, 
which  contributed  largely  to  his  personal 
influence,  was,  a  faculty  for  the  practi- 
cal AND  EXECUTIVE    FUNCTIONS    OF  PASTORAL 

and  Ecclesiastical  duty.     He  had  an  inti- 
mate acquaintance  with  the  human  heart  ; 
an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  way  in  which 
men  think  and  feel ;  a  clear  perception  of 
the  principles  by  which  conduct  is  actuated, 
and   a   practical    acquaintance     with    the 
modes  and  expedients,  by  which  the  pro- 
jects and    enterprises   of    life   are    accom- 
plished.    With  this,  he   combined  a  quick 
perception  of  the  nature  and  relations  of 
things.     We  have  often  been  struck  with 
his  ready  comprehension  of  a  plan  or  pro- 
ject before  the  explanation  was  half  given. 
No  sooner  was  the  first  step  indicated,  than 
his  mind  seemed  intuitively  to  compass  and 
understand  the  whole.     To  this  ready  per- 
spicacity, he   added  a  great  fertility  in  the 


94 

invention  of  instrumentalities  and  expedi- 
ents; and  an  unusual  readiness  and  energy 
in  effecting,  by  his  own  personal  effort,  and 
in  employing  others  to  effect,  the  purposes 
which  he  had  formed.  In  nothing,  perhaps, 
was  he  more  remarkable  than  in  the  pecu- 
liar faculty  which  he  had  in  enlisting  the 
co-operation  of  others,  and  in  directing  the 
peculiar  gifts  and  attainments  of  every  one 
around  him  to  some  useful  purpose.  In 
this,  he  has  often  reminded  us  of  the  Gen- 
eral of  an  Army,  who  knew  the  points  of 
all  his  men,  and  how  to  use  each  in  the 
very  service  to  which  he  was  specially 
adapted.  It  was  this,  as  we  shall  after- 
ward show,  that  made  him  so  invaluable 
in  public  assemblies,  in  ecclesiastical  courts, 
and  in  the  Boards  and  Benevolent  organi- 
zations of  the  Church.  It  was  this,  also, 
(as  we  have  already  seen  in  the  events  of 
his   life,)    that   gave    such    administrative 


95 

success  to  his  ministerial  life.  It  was  this 
made  him  always  the  very  man  for  an  exi- 
gency. If  the  Church  was  under  the 
Sheriff's  levy,  he  knew  how  to  extricate  it ; 
if  a  new  enterprise  was  to  be  started,  he 
knew  the  right  spring  to  touch,  and  how  to 
direct  the  impulse  ;  if  a  difficulty  occurred 
among  his  members,  he  knew  how  to  curb 
the  refractory,  to  settle  the  excitable,  to 
conciliate  the  hostile,  and  to  bring  out  of 
discord  the  "peaceable  fruits  of  righteous- 
ness." His  capacity  to  execute,  enlisted  co- 
operation in  his  plans.  Others  joined  him, 
because  he  worked  himself.  They  followed 
him,  with  something  of  the  feeling  with 
which  a  soldier  follows  a  leader  who  never 
was  vanquished. 

Such  were  some  of  the  elements,  of  that 
peculiar  personal  influence  so  characteris- 
tic of  our  departed  Father — an  influence 


96 

which  it  is  hard  to  describe  to  a  stranger, 
but  which  all  who  knew  him  have  felt,  and 
will  remember  as  among  the  most  vivid 
impressions  of  their  lives.  It  arose  from  a 
sanctified  use  of  that  unusual  combination 
of  natural  traits,  which  we  have  attempted 
to  describe.  His  personal  presence,  com- 
manding respect ;  his  genuine  honesty,  in- 
spiring confidence;  his  strong  decision,  con- 
straining acquiescence;  his  goodness  of 
heart,  winning  the  affections  ;  and  his  prac- 
tical efficiency,  enlisting  co-operation  and 
insuring  success. 

We  now  turn  from  the  Man,  to  view  : — 

S  E  C  O  N  D  L  Y  —  T  HE     CHRISTIAN. 

Few  men  ever  enjoyed  such  oppor- 
tunities for  the  development  of  a  strong, 
disciplined,    ripened     christian     character* 


97 

Converted  in  his  early  youth  ;  trained  un- 
der a  benign  Presbyterian  home  influ- 
ence; and  instructed  in  spiritual  religion  by 
a  truly  Apostolic  Pastor,  his  piety  took  a 
deep  root,  and  became  a  vital  element  of 
his  being.  It  had  the  advantage  of  a  liv- 
ing lodgment  in  his  soul,  and  an  incorpora- 
tion with  his  nature,  before  sin  had  de- 
veloped its  power,  or  wound  the  coils  of  its 
fatal  facination  around  him. 

With  this  early  start,  his  piety  had  all  the 
advantages  of   growth    and    development. 
The  work  of  the  holy  ministry  before  him, 
was  a  constant  incentive  to  higher  attain- 
ments   in    spiritual   experience.      Having 
entered  upon  his  sacred  functions,  he   re- 
ceived (as  you  have  seen  in  the  narrative  of 
his  life,)  a  new  baptism,   amid   scenes   of 
powerful  revival.     The  immediate  success 
attendant  upon  his  settlement,  awakened 
13 


98 

an  ardent  zeal  for  the  salvation  of  souls. 
The  many  revivals  through  which  he  after- 
ward passed,  furnished  new  and  augmented 
impulses  in  his  upward  course ;  whilst  his 
protracted  life,  with  the  discipline  of  trials 
and  bereavement,  strengthened  and  mel- 
lowed the  experience  of  his  heart  and  the 
fruitage  of  his  graces,  to  a  richness  and 
ripeness  meet  for  the  enjoyment  of  glory. 

In  reviewing  his  character,  as  a  christian, 
we  meet  with  no  eccentric  development  ; 
nothing  extravagant;  nothing  fitful;  noth- 
ing fluctuating ;  nothing  in  undue  propor- 
tion. He  was  not  distinguished  by  the  pre- 
eminence of  any  one  particular  characteris- 
tic, but  by  the  vigorous  growth  and  uniform 
development  of  the  whole  circle  of  chris- 
tian graces.  The  beauty  of  his  character 
was  its  symmetry,  the  admirable  adjustment 
and   equipoise  of    all    its   parts.      In   the 


99 

analysis,  we  are  at  a  loss  to  select  among 
the  multitude  of  his  christian  excellencies, 
and  which  to  place  first  in  the  enumeration. 

Perhaps  his — 

First,  and  chief  distinction,  as  a  chris- 
tian, Was  HIS  LOYE  FOR  THE  PERSON,  AND  HIS 
DEVOTION    TO    THE   GLORY   OF    JESUS    CHRIST. 

Paul  himself  scarcely  illustrated  more  fully 
his  own  declaration:  "For  I  have  deter- 
mined to  know  nothing  among  you,  save 
Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified."  I  speak 
now  to  many  who  knew  him  during  a  min- 
istry of  forty  years,  and  I  know  that  I  will 
meet  with  a  hearty  indorsement  in  every 
heart  when  I  say,  that,  "for  him  to  live  was 
Christ."  The  expression  of  his  whole  min- 
istry and  life  was,  "God  forbid  that  I 
should  glory,  save  in  the  Cross  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ." 


100 

There  were  those  who  esteemed  him 
mad — pronounced  him  an  enthusiast ;  but 
he  could  say,  "whether  I  be  beside  myself,  it 
is  to  God ;  or  whether  I  be  sober,  it  is  for 
your  cause;  for  the  love  of  Christ  con- 
straineth  me."  Noble  madness !  Would 
that  God  would  bestow  something  of  this 
same  phrensy  upon  his  ministry  now,  that 
with  the  same  burning  zeal  and  glowing  de- 
votion they  might  " testify  of  the  gospel  of 
the  grace  of  God." 

Next  to  his  love  for  Jesus,  we  mention— 

Secondly — His  love  for  souls.  Upon 
that  kindliness  of  nature,  or  goodness  of 
heart,  which  we  noticed  as  a  characteristic 
of  the  man,  the  Spirit  of  God  engrafted  the 
beautiful  grace  of  christian  charity,  which 
encompasses  the  whole  world  in  the  arms  of 
its  benevolent  regard — ministering  to  the 


101 

bodies,  but  exercising  its  chief  solicitude  in 
reference  to  the  souls  of  men.  The  soul — 
the  unspeakable  worth  of  the  soul,  was  the 
conviction  that  quickened  him  to  act,  and 
gave  intensity  to  his  public  and  private  ap- 
peals. He  had  a  thrilling  realization  of  the 
exposure  of  impenitent  sinners  to  everlast- 
ing misery,  and  this  stirred  up  all  the  sym- 
pathies of  his  heart,  and  nerved  him  to 
vigorous  efforts  for  their  salvation.  He 
spared  no  labor,  and  left  no  instrumentality 
untried,  by  which  sinners  might  be  roused 
and  rescued  from  their  peril.  Hence  his 
great  interest  in  revivals  of  religion  ;  his 
pungent,  awakening  appeals  from  the  pul- 
pit ;  and  his  readiness  to  use  every  opportu- 
nity, even  the  most  casual,  to  address  indi- 
viduals upon  the  subject  of  personal  salva- 
tion. There  are  those  here  who  well  re- 
member, how,  when  they  were  little  boys, 
he  would  take  them  by  the  hand  upon  the 


102 

street,  or  as  he  passed  them  in  the  market, 
and  inquire  if  they  were  seeking  the  one 
thing  needful.  This  concern  for  perishing 
sinners  extended  to  all  classes.  He  had  the 
tenderest  sympathy  for  the  degraded  and 
outcast,  and  he  spared  no  pains  to  seek  and 
save  them.  The  beggar  to  whom  he  gave 
alms  upon  the  street,  could  not  pass  with- 
out a  sympathetic  admonition ;  and  even 
the  robber,  who  attempted  to  plunder  his 
dwelling,  had  to  stay  for  prayer.  The  in- 
cident to  which  I  refer,  was  such  a  strik- 
ing illustration  of  his  character  that  I  can- 
not leave  it  unrecorded. 

Aroused  one  night  from  slumber  by  a 
noise  in  his  chamber,  he  inquired,  "Who  is 
there?"  A  voice,  imitating  the  tone  of  a 
female,  replied,  "It's  me,  sir."  Detecting 
the  imposture,  he  immediately  sprang  from 
his  bed,  and  as  the  robber  was  retreating 


103 

down  the  stairs,  he  seized  him  by  the  hair 
and  held  him  in  his  iron  grasp.  The  rob- 
ber, feeling  that  he  had  found  his  master, 
surrendered,  and  the  Doctor  led  him  down 
the  stairs  into  the  kitchen,  struck  a  light, 
stirred  the  fire,  and  seated  the  culprit  by 
his  side  to  talk  with  him  about  his  soul. 
After  a  long  conversation,  in  which  the 
robber  expressed  great  penitence,  and 
promised  to  lead  a  new  life,  the  Doctor 
kneeled  by  his  side,  and  prayed  most  ear- 
nestly to  God  in  his  behalf.  When  they 
arose  from  prayer,  the  Doctor  was  about  to 
dismiss  him,  with  a  supply  of  bread  and 
meat  for  his  family,  when  it  occurred  to 
inquire  what  time  it  was.  Mrs.  Herron 
went  to  look  at  the  watch  ;  but,  behold,  it 
was  gone  !  The  villain  had  stolen  it,  and, 
notwithstanding  all  his  professions  of  peni- 
tence, was  about  to  depart  with  the  watch 
in  his  pocket.    The  Doctor  seized  him  again, 


104 

and  made  him  surrender  the  watch.  The 
fellow's  penitence  now  became  deeper  than 
ever,  and  the  Doctor,  in  the  kindness  of  his 
heart,  forgave  him  all,  and  sent  him  away 
with  such  an  abundant  supply  of  provisions 
as  to  leave  rather  a  scarcity  for  the  next 
morning's  breakfast. 

I  mention  this  incident  because  it  illus- 
trates, as  forcibly  as  any  circumstance  of 
his  life,  three  of  his  most  prominent  char- 
acteristics, in  a  striking  combination.  First, 
his  great  personal  courage  and  resolute  ac- 
tion, in  seizing  and  grappling  with  a  burg- 
lar in  the  dark :  secondly,  his  lively  concern 
for  the  man's  salvation.  Whilst  many  per- 
sons in  such  circumstances,  would  have  been 
filled  with  resentment,  and  have  thought 
only  how  they  could  secure  and  punish  the 
culprit,  his  first  thought  was  about  the  man's 
soul,  and  how  he  could  save  him  from  the 


105 

perdition  of  the  ungodly.  Combined  with 
these,  you  perceive  a  third  trait,  (which  you 
will  all  say  was  so  like  him.)  that  goodness 
of  heart,  which  could  be  imposed  upon  by  the 
man's  expressions  of  penitence,  and,  even 
after  the  discovery  of  his  hypocrisy,  send 
him  away,  with  as  much  bread  and  meat 
as  he  could  carry. 

Thirdly — Again,  we  observe  that  Dr.  Her- 
ron  was  eminently  a  max  of  faith.  "He 
lived"  and  "walked  by  faith.'7  He  exem- 
plified in  his  life  the  beautiful  union  of 
faith  and  works.  He  worked,  as  if  all  de- 
pended upon  himself;  and  yet  trusted,  as  if 
all  depended  upon  Grod.  He  was  accus- 
tomed to  say,  that  "to  work  without  be- 
lieving was  Atheism,  and  to  believe  with- 
out working  was  presumption  ;  whilst  both 
combined,    constituted    genuine    religion." 

His  realization  of  the  special  Providence  of 
14 


106 

God,  in  the  allotments  of  life,  and  in  the 
minute  details  of  daily  incident,  was  so 
distinct,  that  he  committed  not  only  the 
great  purposes  of  his  ministry,  but  the 
smallest  solicitudes  of  his  heart,  to  his 
Heavenly  Father,  and  trusted  Him  with  the 
beautiful  simplicity  of  a  little  child. 

This  confidence  in  the  Word  of  God  was 
unbounded.  This  gave  rise  to  one  of  his 
peculiarities.  His  conviction  of  the  truth 
of  God's  Word  was  so  powerful,  that  he  had 
no  patience  with  any  form  of  unbelief. 
He  could  bear  with  the  tenderest  com- 
passion the  sins  of  the  wayward  and 
prodigal ;  his  heart  could  melt  in  sympathy 
(as  we  have  seen,)  with  the  robber,  who 
would  plunder  his  dwelling;  but  he  had  no 
kind  of  forbearance  with  an  Infidel  or  Skep- 
tic.    He  could  not  brook  an  insinuation  of 


10T 

unbelief.  The  truth  to  him  was  so  mani- 
fest, that  doubt  seemed,  not  weakness,  but 
wickedness,  and  therefore  met  with  sover- 
eign contempt.  His  heart,  so  full  of  kindly 
sympathies,  would  seem  instantly  to  freeze 
in  the  presence  of  an  unbeliever,  and  he 
would  pour  upon  him  a  storm  of  "hail 
stones  and  coals  of  fire." 

His  faith  was  not  only  strong,  but 
vital.  It  not  only  received  the  doctrines, 
but  imparted  the  life  of  religion.  It  not 
only  trusted  the  Bible  as  true,  but  Christ  as 
The  Truth.  Hence,  it  became  the  substance, 
(that  which  stands  under,)  the  solid  founda- 
tion of  all  that  he  hoped  for,  and  the  "evi- 
dence of  things  unseen." 

Fourthly— With  a  pure  evangelical  Faith, 
Dr.  Herron  combined  a  liberal  Catholic 
Spirit.     He  had  nothing  of  that  narrow  ex- 


108 

clusiveness,  which  thinks  that  all  truth  and 
goodness  is  shut  up  in  the  pale  of  his  own 
denomination,  and  excludes  all  others  as 
outside  barbarians.  He  had  a  heart  and  a 
hand  that  were  alike  open  to  all  who 
"name  the  name  of  Jesus."  He  felt  a  deep 
interest  in  the  prosperity  of  God's  work, 
no  matter  under  what  denominational  ban- 
ner it  wTas  carried  forward.  Hence,  during 
a  ministry  of  fifty  years  in  this  City,  he  en- 
joyed, to  a  remarkable  degree,  the  confi- 
dence and  affection  of  his  brethren  of  all 
denominations.  He  was  ever  ready  to  as- 
sist them  in  their  own  pulpits,  and  to  receive 
their  assistance  in  return.  In  every  project 
for  the  general  good  he  co-operated  with 
such  kindness  and  cordiality,  that  christians 
of  every  name  delighted  to  work  by  his 
side.  Even  in  his  old  age  he  was  always 
ready  to  assist  a  brother  in  need.  In  these 
acts  of  brotherly  kindness  he  filled,  occa- 


109 

sionally,  nearly  all  the  pulpits  in  the  City. 
The  expression  of  his  whole  life  was,  "Grace, 
mercy,  and  peace  be  upon  all  them  who 
love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity  and 
truth." 

Fifthly. — Passing  by  many  other  traits  of 
his  christian  character,  which  we  are  sorry 
for  the  want  of  time,  to  leave  unnoticed,  we 
mention  another  characteristic,  which  we  re- 
gard as  his  pre-eminent  distinction.  If  I 
were  to  pass  around  through  the  members 
of  this  congregation,  the  ministers  of  this 
Synod,  and  the  citizens  of  this  community, 
and  inquire  what  was  the  chief  distinguish- 
ing trait  in  Dr.  Herron's  character — I  have 
not  the  least  doubt,  that  they  would  all  re- 
ply, with  one  accord,  Magnanimity!  Magna- 
nimity !  It  was  a  magnanimity  too  of  the 
highest  and  noblest  character.  It  was  not, 
simply,  that  greatness  of  mind,  or  elevation 


110 

of  soul  which,  occasionally,  prompts  to  a  bril- 
liant act  of  self-oblivion  for  a  great  public 
good,  but  that  christian  virtue  which  made 
it  the  habit  of  his  life  to  ignore  self,  to  pro- 
mote the  best  interests  of  others.  Few 
men  have  ever  risen  so  high  above  every 
thing  that  was  little,  selfish  and  contracted, 
and  devoted  their  energies  with  so  broad 
and  expansive  a  generosity  to  noble  and 
benevolent  objects.  I  believe  I  utter  the 
common  sentiment,  when  I  say  that,  "Dr. 
Herron  was  never  suspected  of  entertain- 
ing a  personal  or  selfish  object.'7  Not  a 
single  one  of  the  great  projects  of  his  life 
was  connected  with  his  own  personal  pre- 
ferment. He  devoted  years  of  toil  to  es- 
tablish our  Theological  Seminary,  but  it 
was  to  place  others  in  its  positions  of  honor 
and  influence.  He  spent  time,  strength 
and  money  in  organizing  and  developing 
the  Boards  and  Benevolent  institutions  of 


Ill 

the  Church,  only  to  retire  and  leave  others 
to  reap  the  rewards  of  their  prosperity. 
He  encouraged  the  organization  of  new 
Churches,  by  the  depletion  of  his  own.  He 
shared  largely  in  every  Presbyterial  and 
Synodical  enterprise;  co-operated  with  his 
brethren  in  every  department  of  the  minis- 
terial work;  but  no  one  ever  discovered 
in  him  any  spark  of  jealousy,  or  any  emo- 
tion of  envy,  on  account  of  the  gifts  or  at- 
tainments of  others.  He  was  always  ready 
to  work  himself,  or  to  lead  the  van;  bat 
was  glad  to  have  others  who  could  do  the 
work  as  well,  or  better  than  himself.  This 
was  the  testimony  of  all  his  brethren  in  the 
Presbytery  of  Ohio,  when  during  its  recent 
sessions,  his  death  was  announced.  It  was 
an  occasion  of  deep  feeling,  and  as  one 
after  another  arose  to  express  their  sor- 
row, they  spoke  of  his  generosity  of  heart; 
of  his   superiority   to  self,   and   his   mag- 


112 
nanimous  co-operation  in  every  good  work. 

A  personal  allusion  may  here  be  par- 
doned, when  it  is  remembered  that  the  re- 
lation of  the  speaker  to  his  departed  Fath- 
er was  such,  as  enables  him  to  bear  a  testi- 
mony upon  this  point  which  no  other  can. 

Retirement  from  official  station  is  the 
severest  test  to  which  human  character  is 
ordinarily  subjected.  The  history  of  the 
Church  shows,  that  the  most  trying  point 
in  ministerial  life,  is  when  a  pastor  has  to 
retire  on  account  of  age  or  infirmity,  and 
see  another  occupying  his  place — filling 
that  pulpit  which  lie  had  felt  was  sacredly 
his  own;  enjoying  the  rewards  for  which  he 
had  spent  his  whole  life,  and  engaging  those 
attentions  and  affections  which  had  so  long 
been  the  joy  of  his  own  heart.  This  is  a 
sore  trial ;  and  if  there  is  a  single  spark  of 


113 

unruortified  selfishness  left,  it  will  then 
kindle  and  blaze  into  a  flame.  To  this  try- 
ing ordeal  our  departed  Father  was  sub- 
jected, but  never  for  a  single  moment  did 
a  spark  of  envy  kindle  in  his  heart,  or  a 
feeling  of  jealousy  cloud  his  noble  spirit. 
He  received  his  successor  with  an  open 
heart,  and  cherished  him  as  if  he  were  his 
own  son.  If  he  had  success,  he  enjoyed  it  as 
his  own;  if  he  had  trials,  his  heart  was  as 
sorrowful  as  if  they  had  befallen  himself. 
Even  the  sensitiveness  which  old  age  usu- 
ally has  in  reference  to  its  opinions  and 
counsels,  he  never  exhibited.  His  advice 
was  always  cheerfully  given  ;  but  if  an  op- 
posite course  was  adopted,  instead  of  taking 
offence,  he  would  defend  it  to  the  utter- 
most, and  woe  betide  the  man  that  dared, 
in  his  presence,  say  aught  against  it. 
Nothing  was  easier  than  to  live  in  unity 

with  such  a  man  ;  and  now  that  he  is  gone 
15 


114 

it  is  my  happiness  to  testify  that,  during 
the  ten  years  that  I  have  occupied  this  post 
as  his  successor,  nothing  has  occurred  to 
mar  for  one  single  moment  the  harmony  of 
our  fellowship.  I  never  met  a  frown  upon 
his  brow j  never  heard  an  unkind  word  from 
his  lips;  never  felt  a  single  jar  in  our  inter- 
course; never  was  for  a  moment  trammeled 
or  embarrassed  in  my  personal  or  ministe- 
rial action  by  anything  that  he  said  or  did. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  was  a  Friend,  who 
stood  by  me  in  every  extremity  ;  a  Coun- 
sellor, ever  ready  with  the  wisdom  of  age 
and  experience ;  a  Comforter,  full  of  the 
tenderest  sympathy;  a  Defender,  who  would 
stand  forth  and  receive  reproach  himself, 
rather  than  it  should  fall  upon  me. 

Now,  in  all  this,  there  was  a  magnanimity 
that  glorifies  the  grace  of  God.  There  was 
such  an  elevation  above  all  the  littleness 


115 

of  human  nature,  as  makes  us  feel  how 
blessed  is  that  religion  which  can  develop 
and  mature  such  a  character  as  this.  I  bow 
profoundly  to  adore  the  grace  of  God  in 
such  a  beautiful  exemplification,  and  I  bless 
His  name  that  we  are  permitted  to  know 
that  religion  does  bring  such  beauty  out  of 
the  wreck  of  the  Fall. 

From  the  Christian,  we  now  turn  to 
view — 

Thirdl y — T he   Minister. 

His  tongue  is  now  silent.  The  voice, 
which  so  long  uttered  in  your  ears  the  mes- 
sages of  God,  is  hushed  in  death ;  but  it 
will  afford  a  melancholy  pleasure  to  recall 
him,  in  imagination,  as  he  stood  here  in 
his  prime  and  vigor,  and  pass  in  review  be- 
fore our  minds  the  striking  features  of  his 


116 

public  address,  and  the  characteristics  and 
elements  of  his  pulpit  power. 

In  the  Preacher  we  perceive  at  once,  the 
combination  of  the  man  and  the  christian. 
His  elements  of  power  as  a  man,  combined 
most  strikingly  with  his  graces  as  a  chris- 
tian, to  form  those  peculiar  qualities  by 
which  his  pulpit  ministrations  were  so 
strongly  marked.  For  example,  his  natu- 
ral decision  of  character  and  force  of  will, 
uniting  with  his  strong  faith  in  God's  word, 
gave  him  that  tone  of  authority  with  which 
he  always  spoke — impressing  upon  every 
hearer  the  conviction  that  he  spoke  what 
he  knew,  and  testified  of  what  he  had  deep- 
ly experienced.  In  the  same  manner,  you 
can  each  trace  for  yourself  a  similar  union 
in  all  the  characteristics  which  we  shall 
now  specify  : 


117 

First — He  was  pre-eminently  an  Experi- 
mental Preacher.  If  he  had  any  special 
excellence,  which  distinguished  him  from 
other  preachers,  it  was  this.  It  was  his  de- 
light to  preach  the  truth  in  its  relation  to 
christian  experience.  Almost  every  ser- 
mon, which  it  was  our  privilege  to  hear 
from  his  lips,  bore  this  as  its  marked  char- 
acteristic. In  this  way  he  evolved  the  ex- 
perience of  his  own  heart,  and  brought  it 
to  bear  with  pungent  and  edifying  power 
upon  his  hearers.  If  his  subject  was  a  doc- 
trine, he  aimed  to  show  how  it  should  af- 
fect the  heart,  and  always  described,  with 
most  happy  success,  the  way  in  which  a  true 
christian  felt,  who  appreciated  and  applied 
that  truth  to  his  soul.  In  like  manner,  if 
his  text  was  a  fact,  he  showed  how  a  chris- 
tian should  feel  if  he  realized  its  proper 
impression.  In  this  way  he  was  always 
in  immediate  contact  with   the  hearts  and 


118 

consciences  of  his  people.  In  these  de- 
lineations of  christian  character  and  experi- 
ence, he  discovered  a  graphic  power  which 
is  rarely  equalled.  This  was  the  more  re- 
markable, because  his  mind  was  not  of  a 
poetical  or  imaginative  cast.  He  never 
thought  of  portraying  a  scene,  or  creating 
an  image,  or  indulging  an  emotional  senti- 
ment. But  in  this  particular  field  of  ex- 
perimental portraiture,  he  had  all  the  pow- 
er and  skill  of  a  master  artist.  He  would 
delineate  feelings  so  vividly,  as  to  make  a 
hearer  think  that  he  had,  somehow,  seen 
into  his  heart,  and  was  now  exposing  him 
before  the  whole  congregation.  On  the 
subject  of  repentance,  he  would  describe 
how  a  true  penitent  felt  so  graphically,  and 
then  distinguish  the  true  from  every  false 
kind  of  repentance,  as  to  leave  no  one 
in  doubt  whether  his  was  "  a  repentance 
that  needs  not  to  be  repented  of."     In  the 


119 

same  manner,  he  would  describe  the  feel- 
ings of  an  impenitent  sinner,  so  as  to  startle 
and  alarm  him  at  the  sight  of  his  own  por- 
trait. This  pungent  experimental  applica- 
tion of  the  truth,  we  believe,  was  his  chief 
distinction  in  the  pulpit ;  and  in  this  his 
strongest  intellectuality,  as  well  as  his  deep- 
est experience,  were  discovered. 

Secondly— Doctor  Herron  was,  in  the  best 
sense3  a  Doctrinal  Preacher.  He  was 
neither  a  jejune  essayist,  nor  a  met- 
aphysical demonstrator  of  abstract  prop- 
ositions, nor  a  dreamy  speculator  about  Di- 
vine mysteries,  nor  a  theological  grinder — 
crushing  and  pulverising  truth  between  logi- 
cal mill-stones,  and  then  doling  it  out,  grain 
by  grain,  particle  by  particle,  as  if  the  Bread 
of  Heaven  was  scarce,  and  the  minister  re- 
stricted to  a  slow  and  frugal  distribution. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  exhibited  doctrine 


120 

as  a  thing  of  life — a  quickening,  discrimin- 
ating power  —  ''piercing  to  the  dividing 
asunder  of  the  soul  and  spirit — a  discerner 
of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart." 
In  this  sense,  his  sermons  were  full  of  doc- 
trines— not  of  dead  dogmas,  but  of  living, 
pungent  principles ;  "manifestations  of  truth, 
commending  themselves  to  every  man's  con- 
science, in  the  sight  of  God."  He  seldom 
thought  it  expedient  to  enter  into  a  formal 
argument,  but  when  circumstances  demand- 
ed the  vindication  of  a  truth,  he  was  able 
to  do  it  with  force  and  power.  This  was 
evinced  in  a  number  of  sermons,  which  he 
was  constrained  to  preach  in  defence  of  some 
of  the  points  of  Calvinistic  Theology,  and 
especially,  in  a  sermon  upon  Universalism, 
which  produced  such  an  impression  at  the 
time,  and  was  regarded  as  so  conclusive  an 
argument,  that  he  was  invited  to  repeat  it 
in  many  of  the  other  pulpits  of  this  city. 


121 

That  sermon  should  be  preserved  in  some 
enduring  form,  and  if  it  were  not  that,  with 
characteristic  modesty,  he  requested  that 
none  of  his  sermons  should  be  published, 
we  would  suggest  the  propriety  of  its  pub- 
lication by  the  Presbyterian  Board,  as  one 
of  the  standard  tracts  of  our  church. 

Thirdly — Dr.  Herron  was  an  Awaken- 
ing Preacher.  He  had  an  unusual 
power  of  stirring  slumbering  christians 
from  their  lethargy,  and  rousing  im- 
penitent sinners  to  an  apprehension 
of  their  danger.  This  made  him  highly 
effective  in  times  of  revival,  at  com- 
munion seasons,  and  protracted  meetings. 
Those  who  remember  his  early  ministry, 
speak  of  his  overwhelming  appeals  to  the 
unconverted  ;  his  awful  portraitures  of  the 
terrors  of  God's  law ;  his  peculiar  fac- 
ulty of  showing  the  hollowness  of  a  sin* 
16 


122 

ner's  excuses  for  the  neglect  of  religion,  and 
of  exposing  the  refuges  of  lies,  to  which  so 
many  betake  themselves.  A  sermon  of 
this  character,  on  1he  text — "  They  all,  with 
one  consent,  began  to  make  excuse,"  ar- 
rested the  attention  of  a  young,  thoughtless 
lad,  who  is  now  one  of  the  oldest  and  most 
useful  ministers  in  this  Presbytery,  and  looks 
back  with  deep  emotion  to  the  hour 
when  Dr.  Herron  was  made  the  instrument, 
in  the  hand  of  God,  for  his  conversion.  An 
incident  of  his  early  life  illustrates  very 
forcibly  this  characteristic  of  his  ministry. 
When  on  his  way  to  Pittsburgh,  in  1 810, 
he  stopped  in  the  neighborhood  of  Youngs- 
town,  where  a  number  of  ministers  had 
collected,  and  were  holding  a  large  protract- 
ed meeting.  He  was  at  that  time  tall  and 
thin,  and  very  youthful  in  his  appearance. 
Hearing  that  a  strange  clergyman  had  ar- 
rived, some  of  the  ministers  waited  upon 


123 

him,  and  invited  him  to  preach.  When  he 
appeared  in  the  pulpit,  a  murmur  of  dissat- 
isfaction went  around  the  whole  congrega- 
tion :  "Why  have  they  asked  that  boy  to 
preach  ?"  was  the  general  inquiry  ;  and  even 
the  ministers  felt  somewhat  uneasy,  lest 
"  the  boy  "  might  mar  the  interest  of  the  oc- 
casion. Soon,  however,  all  fears  were  dis- 
sipated ;  "  the  boy  "  preached  as  if  he  had 
been  an  angel — the  power  of  God  was  with 
him  ;  a  new  impulse  was  given  to  the  meet- 
ings, and  such  an  impression  made,  that 
"  the  boy's  "  sermon  was  long  remembered, 
and  is  talked  of  still,  in  that  community. 

Fourthly— -The  preaching  of  Dr.  Herron 
was  also  characterised  by  tenderness  and 
affection.  His  warm,  sympathetic  heart, 
combining  with  the  grace  of  God  which 
filled  him  with  love  for  perishing  souls, 
gave  a  peculiar  tenderness,  and  emotional 


124 

fervor  to  his  presentations  of  Christ,  to 
awakened  sinners,  or  to  anxious  christians. 
Christ  was  so  fully  "the  beloved "  of  his  own 
heart,  that  he  had  a  burning  desire  to  see 
him  formed  in  the  hearts  of  others,  as  "  the 
hope  of  glory."  Under  the  influence  of  a 
sermon  of  this  kind,  it  pleased  God,  in  his 
Providence,  to  place  a  young  lady,  who  had 
been  educated  in  the  principles  of  Unitari- 
anism,  and  knew  well  how  to  use  all  its 
weapons  of  defence.  The  text  from  which 
the  Doctor  preached,  was,  John,  6  :  37  : — 
"  Him  that  cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out."  In  a  private  letter,  de- 
scribing its  impression  upon  her  mind, 
(which  I  may  be  pardoned  for  quoting,) 
she  says  : — "  Had  this  discourse  been 
controversial,  my  feelings  of  antagonism 
to  evangelical  doctrine  would  have  been 
aroused  ;  but  the  subject  was  Christ — his 
ability    and    willingness    to   save    sinners, 


125 

and  his  invitation  to  come  to  him.  My 
heart  was  drawn  out  in  love  to  this  gracious 
Redeemer,  and  I  mentally  asked  myself,  'can 
a  mere,  peccable  man  dare  to  promise  so 
much?'  The  question  was  yet  undecided, 
though  stirring  the  inmost  depths  of  my 
soul,  when  the  conclusion  of  the  last  prayer 
settled  the  point,  once,  and  for  life.  It 
was  in  these  words :— '  Who  is  the  Lord, 
our  righteousness,  and  our  strength,  and 
over  all,  God  blessed,  forever  more,  amen.' 
I  had  been  led  that  same  morning  to  open 
Owens'  work  on  the  Trinity,  and  these  two 
texts  were  urged  as  proofs  of  the  Divinity 
of  the  Saviour  ;  and  now,  when  they  were 
repeated  in  the  sanctuary,  it  seemed  to  me 
as  if  the  Old  and  New  Testament  each  bore 
witness  against  the  opinions  I  had  so  stren- 
uously maintained."  From  that  time  she 
embraced  Christ  as  her  Saviour;  in  much 
tribulation  through  family  opposition,  she 


126 

professed  him  before  men,  and  still  lives,  to 
attest,  in  a  happy  experience,  and  by  a  use- 
ful life,  "  the  unsearchable  riches  of  his 
grace.'7 

Such  were  some  of  the  more  prominent 
traits  of  Dr.  Herron's  ministry.  To  com- 
plete our  estimate  of  his  character,  we  must 
view  him — 

FOURTHL  Y — A  S     A     PRESBYTER. 

This  was  a  sphere  of  influence  and  useful- 
ness which  he  delighted  to  occupy;  to  which 
his  talents  were  eminently  adapted  ;  and  in 
which  he  exerted  some  of  the  most  salutary 
influences  of  his  life.  His  wisdom,  discretion, 
and  knowledge  of  practical  life  made  him  a 
safe  and  valuable  counsellor,  to  whom  his 
brethren  could  look  for  guidance.  His  un- 
selfish, magnanimous  spirit,  always  gave  as- 


127 

surance  that  he  had  no  personal  or  covert 
purposes  to  subserve.  His  kindness  of  heart 
drew  his  brethren  around  him,  with  warm, 
confiding  affection  :  whilst  his  decision,  en- 
ergy and  executive  capacity  enabled  him  to 
undertake  and  carry  forward  the  public  en- 
terprises of  the  Church  with  an  admirable 
efficiency.  All  this  gave  him  such  a  hold 
upon  the  confidence  and  affections  of  his 
brethren,  that  his  counsels  always  had  great 
weight,  and  his  opinions  oftentimes  the 
force  of  law.  As  a  presiding  officer,  in  a 
deliberative  or  judicial  body,  he  had  few 
equals.  He  officiated  with  such  dignity, 
precision,  promptness,  and  authority,  that  it 
was  the  delight  of  his  brethren  to  honor  him 
with  such  appointments.  Hence,  he  was  very 
frequently  elected  as  the  Moderator  of  the 
Presbytery,  and  the  Synod;  and  in  the  year 
1827,  was  chosen  Moderator  of  the  General 
Assembly,  during  its  sessions  at  Philadelphia. 


128 

In  his  capacity  as  a  Presbyter,  he  had 
some  traits  deserving  the  imitation  of  every 
minister.  The  grace  with  which  he  would 
yield  to  the  will  of  the  majority— surrender 
his  own  project,  when  it  was  voted  down, 
and  adopt  and  carry  out  a  plan  which  he 
had  opposed — was  so  strikingly  beautiful, 
that  his  brethren  all  observed  and  spoke 
of  it  with  admiration.  Allied  to  this,  was 
the  noble  frankness  with  which  he  would 
confess  an  error,  or  a  fault;  and  the  magna- 
nimity with  which  he  would  beg  the  par- 
don of  one  whose  feelings  he  had  wounded. 
His  quick,  impulsive  temperament  would 
impel  him  sometimes  to  speak  or  act  in 
haste,  and  as  a  consequence,  he  would  oc- 
casionally commit  an  error  ;  or,  in  the  heat 
of  debate,  utter  a  severity  ;  but  when  he 
saw  his  error,  or  discovered  the  wound  he 
had  made,  there  was  no  man  more  ready  to 
amend  the  wrong,  or  to  beg  pardon  for  his 


129 

offence.  All  this  combined  to  invest  him 
with  the  influence  and  controlling  power 
which  he  wielded  for  so  many  years,  with 
the  happiest  results,  to  the  glory  of  God, 
and  the  welfare  of  the  Church. 

Somewhat  connected  with  this,  was  the 
influence  which  he  exerted  in  a  still  wider 
sphere.     He  was  also, 

Fifthly— A    Public   Man, 

Of  the  highest  and  best  type.  A  man  of 
a  large  expansive  public  spirit — with  a 
heart  to  sympathize  with,  and  a  hand  to 
help,  in  every  project  for  the  advance- 
ment of  the  best  interests  of  the  communi- 
ty, state  or  nation.  He  had  a  deep  con- 
cern for  the  welfare  of  all  classes  of  men. 
In  the  earlier  history  of  this  city  he  took  a 
lively  interest — in  every  mill  and  factory 
17 


130 

that  was  erected — in  every  enterprise  to 
promote  the  convenience  of  the  people,  or 
the  adornment  of  the  city — in  the  opening 
of  new  avenues  of  trade,  and  in  the  secur- 
ing of  new  business  and  commercial  advan- 
tages to  the  community.  He  was  one  of 
the  Fathers  of  this  city  ;  and  no  man  loved 
it  better,  or  did  more  to  promote  its  high- 
est welfare. 

He  not  only  loved  his  city,  but  his 
State  and  Nation.  He  had  a  pride — (did  I 
say  pride  ? — yes,  verily,  an  honest  pride) 
in  being  a  Pennsylvanian.  Born  beneath 
the  shadow  of  her  lofty  mountains,  and 
reared  amid  the  patriots  of  the  Revolution, 
he  cherished  the  idea  that  this  is  the  pe- 
culiar heritage  of  freedom ;  and  believed, 
in  his  heart,  that  a  race  of  men  and  women 
has  been  born  and  reared  in  these  hills, 
and  along  these  valleys,  such  as  is  not  to 


131 

be  found  in  any  other  spot  upon  the   sur- 
face of  this  wide  world. 

As  he  loved  his  State,  so  he  also  loved 
his  Nation.  Patriotism  was  a  part  of  his 
religion  ;  and  his  heart  was  ever  as  true  to 
his  country  as  it  was  to  his  God.  He  knew 
the  worth  of  our  liberties,  for  he  saw  the 
price  with  which  they  were  purchased.  He 
felt  (as  I  fear  few  now  feel,)  the  sacredness 
of  that  compact  which  bound  these  States 
together,  for  he  saw  the  blood  by  which 
this  Union  was  cemented.  To  the  last  mo- 
ments of  his  life,  he  watched  with  a  deep 
and  painful  solicitude,  the  ominous  cloud 
that  is  gathering  upon  our  horizon  ;  and, 
among  the  last  prayers  that  he  uttered, 
were  supplications,  "  that  God  would  pre- 
serve this  Union,  and  save  his  country  from 
reproach." 


132 

Such  was  the  Man,  the  Christian,  the 
Minister,  the  Presbyter,  the  Patriot  Cit- 
izen, who  has  just  departed  from  his  earth- 
ly, to  his  heavenly  home. 

A  feeling  of  devout  gratitude  should  fill 
our  hearts,  that  God  has  permitted  us  to 
witness  such  an  exemplification  of  his  grace. 
In  the  review  of  his  whole  life  and  char- 
acter, there  is  nothing  to  regret ;  no  blem- 
ish upon  his  name  ;  nothing  upon  which 
you  can  place  your  finger  and  say,  "  I  wish 
it  had  been  otherwise" — Nothing  to  vitiate 
the  sweet  savor  of  his  memory,  or  mar  the 
blessed  influence  which  he  has  left  behind. 
He  has  gone  without  leaving  a  single  enemy 
upon  the  earth,  or  a  tongue  that  would 
utter  aught  but  blessings  upon  his  name. 

We  mourn  his  loss.  That  vacant  chair, 
from  which  his  gray  head  and  venerable 


133 

form  has  so  often  spoken  with  silent  el- 
oquence to  our  hearts,  renews  our  grief,  as 
from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath,  it  reminds  us  that 
he  is  gone. 

But  whilst  we  mourn  his  loss,  let  us  imi- 
tate the  example,  and  apply  the  lessons  of 
his  life.  A  voice  seems  to  linger  in  this 
Sanctuary,  saying—"  Remember  the  words 
that  I  spake  unto  you  while  I  was  yet 
with  you.'7     Ah,  yes  ;  he  has  gone,  but  it  is 

<:  To  sit  down  with  the  Prophets,  by  the  clear 
And  crystal  waters  ;  he  has  gone  to  list 
Isaiah's  harp,  and  David's,  and  to  walk 
With  Enoch  and  Elijah,  and  the  host 
Of  the  just  men  made  perfect."      *      * 

And  as  years  roll  on,  and  his  beloved 
flock,  one  by  one,  go  up  to  him,  he  will 
meet  them  at  the  heavenly  gate,  and  lead 
them  to  the  Lamb,  saying— 
tenant  3,  a\\b  tlje  ct)ilbren  ®l)ou  (ja$t  gu>eu  mc" 


PROCEEDINGS 

OF   THE 


At  a  meeting  of  the  Session  of  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church,  in  the  City  of  Pittsburgh,  the 
following  Minute  was  adopted,  and  ordered  to  be  entered 
upon  the  Records : 

Whilst,  in  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Francis  Herron, 
D.  D.,  the  former  Pastor  of  this  Church,  we  recog- 
nize the  hand  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  and  bow  in 
humble  submission  to  his  righteous  will,  we  feel  con- 
strained to  express  our  deep  sorrow  under  the  bereave- 
ment which  has  deprived  us  of  a  venerated  Teacher,  at 
whose  feet  we  have  so  long  received  spiritual  instruction; 
of  a  Counsellor,  whose  discretion  and  experience  has 
given  us  such  safe  guidance;  of  a  Co-Laborer,  whose 
energy  and  efficiency  in  the  work  of  God  has  so  greatly 
advanced  the  prosperity  of  this  Church  ;  and  of  an  Ex- 
emplar, whose  consistent  walk,  and  beautiful  illustration 


136 

of  the  Christian  life,  has  directed  and  stimulated  us  in 
following  Jesus. 

Dr.  Herron  was  settled,  as  the  Pastor  of  this 
Church,  in  June,  1811,  and  it  pleased  God,  in  his  great 
kindness,  to  continue  this  relation  until  Dec.  1850, 
when,  on  account  of  declining  age,  he  felt  it  expedient 
to  request  that  the  relation  should  be  dissolved 

The  long  Pastorate  of  forty  years,  during  which  he 
served  this  Congregation,  was  a  period  of  healthful  and 
encouraging  progress.  As  we  now  look  back  upon  the 
trials  he  endured,  the  difficulties  he  surmounted,  the 
instrumentalities  for  good  which  he  put  into  operation, 
the  controlling  influence  which  he  exerted  in  this  whole 
community,  and  the  moral  and  spiritual  reformation 
which  he  effected  in  this  Church,  we  feel  constrained  to 
testify  to  his  great  efficiency  as  a  Minister,  and  thank- 
fully to  recognize  the  Divine  blessing  which  has  crowned 
his  labors. 

In  every  department  of  his  work  we  have  found  him 
an  able,  diligent,  and  successful  Minister  of  the  New 
Testament.  In  the  Pulpit  he  was  happy  in  the  expo- 
sition of  the  truth ;  strong  in  its  defence,  and  pungent 


137 

and  skillful  in  its  application  to  christian  experience. — 
He  was  also  eloquent  and  powerful  in  his  appeals  to  the 
impenitent,  and  tender  and  affectionate  in  his  presenta- 
tions of  Christ  to  the  awakened  and  anxious.  In  the 
Pastoral  work,  he  combined  a  dignity  of  manner  with 
a  kindness  and  sympathy  that  commanded  the  highest 
respect,  whilst  it  won  the  confidence  and  affection  of  the 
people.  As  the  Moderator  of  this  Session,  he  was  al- 
ways held  in  the  highest  estimation.  We  confided  in 
his  wisdom;  revered  his  character;  trusted  his  practical 
judgment,  and  loved  him  for  the  generosity  of  his  spirit, 
and  the  kindness  and  urbanity  of  his  manners. 

In  view  of  all  that  God  has  wrought  by  his  instru- 
mentality in  our  midst ;  of  all  the  good  which  we  have 
received  from  his  fellowship;  and  of  all  that  endears 
his  memory  to  our  hearts,  be  ifc 

Resolved,  1st,  That  we  record  our  deep  gratitude  to 
God  for  the  gift  of  a  Pastor  so  useful  and  beloved,  and 
for  the  kind  Providence  which  continued  him  with  us 
for  so  many  years,  and  gave  us  the  privilege  of  witness- 
ing the  beauty  of  religion  in  an  old  age  so  bright  with 
christian  cheerfulness,  and  so  rich  in  the    fruitage  of 

grace. 

18 


138 

Resolved,  2d,  That  we  will  cherish  the  memory  of 
his  fellowship  as  among  the  most  blessed  privileges  of 
our  lives  ;  and  feel  stimulated  by  the  example  which  he 
lias  left  us  to  labor  more  diligently,  and  to  follow  on  with 
faith  and  patience  until  we  "inherit  the  promises." 

Resolved,  3d,  That  a  copy  of  this  minute  be  sent  to 
the  family  of  the  deceased,  as  the  expression  of  our 
deep  sympathy ;  and  with  the  assurance  of  our  common 
grief  in  the  bereavement  which  they  have  sustained, 
and  of  our  earnest  prayer  that  their  Father's  God  will 
confirm  to  them,  and  to  their  children,  the  blessings  of 
his  well  ordered  Covenant. 

Resolved,  4th,  That  we  unite  with  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees of  this  Church  in  requesting  our  Pastor  to  preach 
a  Sermon  on  the  Life  and  Character  of  Dr.  Herron,  and 
furnish  the  same  for  publication. 


PROCEEDINGS 

OF      THE 

BOARD     OF    DIRECTORS 

OF       THE 


At  a  late  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the 
Western  Theological  Seminary,  the  following  Minute 
was  adopted  and  put  on  their  records,  relating  to  that 
A^enerated  Father  who  presided  over  the  Board  from  its 
first  organization  till  the  day  of  his  death  : 

< '  It  is  with  mournful  interest  this  Board  enters  upon 
its  records  their  last  Minute  1  elating  to  the  Rev. 
Francis  Herron,  D.  D.,  who  fell  asleep  in  Jesus,  and 
entered  his  rest  on  the  6th  day  of  December,  1860.  He 
presided  over  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Western 
Theological  Seminary  from  its  inception,  and  continued 
to  occupy  that  office  with  universal  acceptance,  and  em- 
inent usefulness  and  efficiency,  till  the  day  of  his  death. 


140 

His  gentleness,  urbanity,  and  piety,  always  gave  him  a 
controlling  influence  over  his  brethren.  His  prayers, 
example,  counsels,  and  abundant  labors,  were  of  the 
highest  value  to  the  Institution  he  loved  so  well,  and 
over  which  he  presided  through  the  long  years  of  its 
trials  and  perilous  vicissitudes.  His  eminent  fidelity 
and  usefulness,  as  the  chief  officer  of  this  Board,  we 
who  remain  desire  here  to  attest  and  record.  In  its 
darkest  day,  when  sanguine  and  liberal  friends  were 
ready  to  despair — when  insuperable  obstacles  seemed  to 
arise  on  every  hand,  and  imperil  the  very  existence  of  the 
Seminary,  his  faith  failed  not.  He  seemed  to  hope 
against  hope.  He  was  ever  ready  by  renewed  personal 
exertion,  self-denial  and  sacrifice,  to  add  effort  to  effort, 
and  prayer  to  prayer,  to  save  this  School  of  the  Pro- 
phets. So  effectually  had  he  identified  himself  with  this 
Institution,  and  incorporated  it  in  his  heart,  that,  at 
home  and  abroad,  its  advancement  was  a  prominent 
theme  of  his  thoughts,  his  prayers  and  conversation. 
When  mingling  with  rich  men  of  all  classes,  authors 
and  literary  circles,  he  sought  to  turn  the  high  regard 
he  always  commanded  for  himself,  to  the  advantage  of 
the  Seminary.  The  very  last  appeal  he  made  on  earth 
was  on  behalf  of  the  Seminary,  and  rendered  effective  by 
these  significant  and  solemn  words:    'It  is  my  dying 


141 

request.'  He  lived  to  see  the  Seminary  rise  from  noth- 
ing, through  a  succession  of  severe  struggles  perhaps 
unparalleled  in  the  history  of  any  similar  institution,  to 
a  measure  of  success  and  prosperity  not  exceeded  by  any 
Seminary  in  the  land.  He  saw  it  transcend  even  his 
highest  expectations. 

"In  green  old  age,  exceeding  four  score  years,  full 
of  peace  and  a  joyful  hope  of  immortality,  almost  impa- 
tient for  his  last  summons,  '  he  came  to  his  grave  in  a 
full  old  age,  like  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in  his  season.' 

"Long  will  this  Board  most  affectionately  cherish  the 
memory  of  this  beloved  and  venerated  man.  Long  will 
his  fidelity  and  zeal  in  his  offices,  as  President  of  this 
Board,  and  as  a  Director  of  this  Institution,  stand  for  an 
example  and  incentive  to  all  who  may  succeed  him  in 
these  important  trusts." 

H.    Gr.     COMINGO, 

W.  D.  Howard, 
Francis  Gr.  Bailey, 

Committee. 


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